Saudi Arabia prepares to bury prince and consider next heir to throne

A special council of royal family members is expected to meet later this week ?to choose the next crown prince after the passing of Nayef Abdul-Aziz.

By Abdullah Al-Shihri,?Associated Press / June 17, 2012

Crown Prince Najef, seen here in a file photo from May, has died; his replacement will be named by a council of his family.

Hassan Ammar/AP

Enlarge

Saudi?royal officials received the body of Crown Prince Nayef Abdul-Aziz in Jiddah on Sunday after a flight from Geneva. He was the second heir to the throne to die outside the country in less than a year.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "off"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

A burial ceremony was set for the holy city of Mecca, where the 88-year-old King Abdullah gathered with royal family members and international envoys. Abdullah has now outlived two appointed successors from among the elderly group of sons of?Saudi's?founding monarch, King Abdul-Aziz.

Health issues increasingly preoccupy the ruling inner circle in?Saudi?Arabia?and show the vivid contrast between a leadership born at the dawn of?Saudi's?oil-rich age and the current population heavily weighted toward youth ? with more than half under 25 years old.

Saudi?authorities have led the efforts in the Western-allied Gulf to counter Arab Spring-inspired calls for reforms, using a combination of crackdowns, intimidation and lavish spending to offer state jobs and handouts. Gulf officials have proposed closer cooperation on security matters, including monitoring social media.

The 78-year-old Nayef, the country's interior minister, was considered wary of even the modest changes brought by King Abdullah, including pledges to allow women to vote and run in the next municipal elections in 2015. Women activists had planned Sunday to mark the anniversary of a campaign to challenge the ultraconservative kingdom's ban on female driving, but they postponed the protests because of the official mourning period for Nayef.

The leading figure as the next heir to the throne, 76-year-old Defense Minister Prince Salman, also is not viewed as a dynamic reformer willing to confront the behind-the-scenes power center in?Saudi?Arabia ??the Islamic religious establishment that gives the monarchy its legitimacy to rule.

Later this week, a special council of royal family members is expected to convene to select the next crown prince of OPEC's top oil producer. The wider succession shake-up also will be closely watched.

It opens the possibility that a member of the so-called "third generation" ? the thousands of younger descendants of King Abdul-Aziz ? could move into positions traditionally considered in line for the throne.

In 2010, Salman had spinal surgery and has suffered at least one stroke, leaving him with limited movement in his left arm, said Simon Henderson, a?Saudi?affairs expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The?Saudi?leadership keeps a tight lid on health-related issues. The cause of the crown prince's death in Geneva was not disclosed.

Nayef left the country in late May for what was described as a "personal vacation" that would include undisclosed medical tests. Earlier this year, he was treated at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, but no details have been officially disclosed.

Nayef's predecessor, Prince Sultan, 80, died in October in New York after an unspecified illness.

As interior minister since 1975, Nayef was in charge of internal security forces. He built up his power in the kingdom though his fierce crackdown against Al Qaeda after the Sept. 11 attacks in the US and a broader campaign to prevent the growth of Islamic militancy among?Saudis.

The 9/11 attacks at first strained ties between the two allies,?Saudi?Arabia?and the US. For months, the kingdom refused to acknowledge that any of its citizens were involved in the suicide airline bombings. Nayef finally became the first?Saudi?official to publicly confirm that 15 of the 19 hijackers were?Saudis. That came in a February, 2002 interview with The Associated Press.

Nayef took a leading role in combatting the Al Qaeda branch in Yemen as well. In 2009, Al Qaeda militants tried to assassinate his son, Prince Muhammad, who is deputy interior minister and commander of counterterrorism operations. A suicide bomber posing as a repentant militant blew himself up in the same room as the prince but failed to kill him.

schweddy balls schweddy balls bill conlin kendall jenner plane crash plane crash kardashian christmas card

Rodney King seen as catalyst for policing change

FILE - This July 16, 1992 file photo shows Rodney King being escorted from jail in Santa Ana, Calif. after he was arrested for investigation of drunken driving. King, whose videotaped beating by police in 1991 led to LA race riots, has died at 47. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, file)

FILE - This July 16, 1992 file photo shows Rodney King being escorted from jail in Santa Ana, Calif. after he was arrested for investigation of drunken driving. King, whose videotaped beating by police in 1991 led to LA race riots, has died at 47. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, file)

FILE - This April 30, 1992 file photo shows looters running with stolen merchandise from a Payless Shoestore near the Crenshaw and Jefferson area of Los Angeles. Rodney King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history, has died, his publicist said Sunday, June 17, 2012. He was 47. (AP Photo/Akili-Casundria Ramsess, file)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Rodney King, who died Sunday after a troubled life, never meant to change the Los Angeles Police Department ? but that's what he ended up doing.

The mention of King's name will always recall painful video images of his 1991 beating and the following year's Los Angeles riots, which were sparked by the acquittals of the officers and resulted in vast destruction and dozens of deaths.

But the King affair also transformed basic practices of policing, not just in Los Angeles but across the country, author Lou Cannon said.

"The LAPD is famous and notorious and other departments key off of what they do," said Cannon, who researched every aspect of the King case for his book, "Official Negligence: How Rodney King and the Riots Changed Los Angeles and the LAPD."

"The King beating and trial set in motion overdue reforms in the LAPD and that had a ripple effect on law enforcement throughout the country," he said.

After the 1992 riots and the ouster of police chief Darryl Gates, a commission headed by Warren Christopher ? who became later President Bill Clinton's secretary of state ? recommended a number of reforms.

Among them was an end to the "lifetime chief." Starting with William Parker in 1950, Los Angeles police chiefs had virtual lifetime tenure granted by civic reformers responding to civic corruption in the 1930s and '40s.

But as the city's demographics changed, the largely white police department ? almost 60 percent white at the time of the King beating ? was seen as the equivalent of an occupying army that couldn't be controlled by the city's elected officials.

Later in the decade, the department's Rampart scandal resulted in a huge probe into allegations of corruption among anti-gang officers. That ushered in eight years of federal oversight of the LAPD, after the U.S. Department of Justice alleged a long pattern of abuses. Many of the reforms proposed by the Christopher commission were mandated by the federal consent decree.

Under police Chief William Bratton in the 2000s, the department focused on community policing, hired more minority officers and worked to resolve tensions between officers and minority communities who continued to complain about racial profiling and excessive use of force.

"It became more perilous to pull someone over for driving while black," Cannon said.

Further, King has become a national symbol of civil rights and for the anti-police brutality and anti-racial-profiling movement, the Rev. Al Sharpton said.

"It was his beating that made America focus on the presence of profiling and police misconduct," he said.

The city's current police chief, Charlie Beck, agreed that King's beating served as a catalyst for reform.

"What happened on that cool March night over two decades ago forever changed me and the organization I love," he said in a statement. "His legacy should not be the struggles and troubles of his personal life but the immensely positive change his existence wrought on this city and its police department."

Attorney Harland Braun, who represented Theodore Briseno, one of the police officers charged with King's beating in a federal trial, said the incident might never have become so important if it hadn't been for the video shot by George Holliday, a neighborhood resident trying out his new video camera.

"In those days, you might have claimed excessive force but there would have been no way to prove it," he said. "Now, you see case after case with videos. People watch their conduct because everyone has a cellphone and can take a video. But it was unusual then."

King was found dead in his backyard pool early Sunday morning. Police found no alcohol or drug paraphernalia near the pool and said foul play wasn't suspected. An autopsy was expected to determine the cause of death within two days.

The real tragedy of Rodney King was that he never got the help he needed, Cannon said. King clearly had neurological problems and addiction issues, and he had learning difficulties as a child which were never addressed.

"He wasn't a bad person. He just didn't know how to behave," Cannon said.

___

Associated Press writer Michelle Janaye Nealy in Chicago contributed to this report.

Associated Press

susan powell megamillions winners university of louisville louisville ky final four lotto winners mega ball winning numbers

Getting internet security right for your small business | BUSINESS ...

Every business, regardless of size, needs to secure its information, yet small businesses have the more specific challenge of keeping their information and data secure by using inexpensive and easy to use tools. It?s a fact that even though you can use a computer with ease it doesn?t mean you are a computer geek in any shape or form, so here are a few tips to getting the internet security right for a small business.

Any computer that connects to the Internet is susceptible to attacks from outsiders, or hackers. They know how to search for those with weak security and exploit this vulnerability by accessing it and helping themselves, via the Internet connection, to the information and data that is stored there. A firewall is the first line of protection in internet security as by restricting the travel of incoming and outgoing data is helps to prevent the probe from the hacker.

A firewall effectively locks the open door that is the Internet connection and only data that has been approved by the firewall is allowed to travel in or out, blocking the hacker. There are several firewall softwares in existence, including built in ones that simply need switching on and free ones that are readily available and can be quickly downloaded.

The second part of securing your computer is to install encryption software. As data, as well as sensitive and confidential information, is saved on a computers hard drive, the easiest way to protect this and make it unreadable to others is to encrypt it. It can only be un-encrypted and made readable again by a person in possession of the correct password. Free encryption tools are readily available and are easily installed, whatever your technical ability.

Back up is essential should your business lose data for any reason. The easiest way to do this is to copy all important emails, files etc onto removable storage devices, such as a flash drive, on a regular basis. If you have this kind of insurance and suffer a loss of data, you will have everything there to hand to continue running your business with as little interruption as possible.

Never under estimate the importance of an anti-virus software, many have in the past and paid the price. Even the most careful of users can fall victim to a virus, and hackers can send these nasties to you in the form of email attachments or even through websites. They will delete data, rewrite data and spread through your network like wildfire. There is no need to spend a fortune on anti-virus either, as the free ones are now better than ever and perfect for small businesses.

Related Posts:

lil boosie new edition austerity rihanna and chris brown back together bobbi kristina brown keanu reeves pebble beach

Approval Ratings and Polls Slightly Favor Romney Over Obama

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

andrew luck trent richardson robert griffin iii dontari poe space shuttle nyc monkeypox nick perry

Looming WTO entry breeds controversy in Russia

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

rihanna and chris brown back together bobbi kristina brown keanu reeves pebble beach clive davis cause of whitney houston death the watchmen

Suu Kyi in Norway fjord town for development talks

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

jaws first night ball drop dick clark new years eve brock lesnar vs alistair overeem times square new years eve liquor store

China's manned spacecraft in final preparations for mid-June launch

China's Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft is in final preparations for its launch in mid-June, paving the way for China's first manned space docking mission, as well as the country's first space mission featuring a female astronaut. The mission will feature the country's first attempt at manual space docking with the orbiting Tiangong-1 lab module, as well as tasks to be completed aboard the Tiangong-1 by astronauts from the Shenzhou-9, space experts said at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi desert.

China will launch the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft sometime in mid-June, a spokesperson said last Saturday.

"The launch of the Shenzhou-9 is a highly influential event that marks an important milestone for the development of China's space technology," Cui Jijun, director of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, said on Wednesday.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the creation of China's manned space program, which was officially initiated on Sept. 21, 1992. The launch of the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft marks the program's 10th launch and the country's fourth manned spaceflight.

China aims to build a space station around 2020 based on the space rendezvous and docking technology that is currently being tested. Several components will be sent into space separately before being assembled into a space station through a variety of docking procedures.

"In the Russian and USA space programs, the most serious docking problems have been caused by automatic docking systems, more so than by manual docking," said Pat Norris, chairman of the Royal Aeronautical Society Space Group.

"China has taken the prudent course of verifying new space technology in robotic flights before applying it to human space missions," he said, referring to last November's unmanned Shenzhou-8 mission to test docking technology, as well as four unmanned missions that took place before the launch of the Shenzhou-5, which took astronaut Yang Liwei into space in 2003 and orbited Earth 14 times.

"China is only the third nation to launch humans into space, which is a very impressive achievement," said Norris, who is also a member of the Executive Committee of the UK Parliamentary Space Committee.

Full Preparations
The Command Hall of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is in "ready to launch" status, according to launch center commander Wang Jun, who will be responsible for turning the ignition key during the actual launch.

A full-system drill was held on Tuesday, with all systems relevant to the mission found to be in full operating condition, Cui said.

He added that a sound emergency plan is in place and comprehensive escape drills have been conducted to ensure the safety of the three astronauts aboard.

The target module Tiangong-1 was brought down to docking orbit in early June and is ready for docking attempts by the Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 spacecraft, according to a spokesperson from China's manned space program.

The three astronauts have been "strictly quarantined" so as to guarantee their physical and psychological condition, according to Lu Jinrong, chief engineer at the Jiuquan center.

"We cannot see them or get in touch with them. All we can do is provide support for their life and work," Lu said.

Although the construction of another launch center in southern China's island province of Hainan is well under way, the Jiuquan center will continue to be used to send manned spacecraft into space, while heavy components to be used to build the space station will be launched at the Hainan center, Lu said, adding that the Jiuquan center will "constantly adapt to new missions."

High Temps Pose Threat
"This launch marks the first time for a Chinese spacecraft to be launched during the hot summer weather," Cui said.

The previous nine launches - from the launch of the Shenzhou-1 to the Tiangong-1 - took place in spring, autumn or winter, he said.

For the Shenzhou-9 mission, high temperatures will pose a threat to the craft, as the ship's propellant can vaporize in excessively high temperatures. Efforts have been made to cool the propellant to around 15 degrees Celsius, "the best temperature before launch," Cui said.

"Summer is a good choice for the launch time," he said, as thunderstorms seldom occur near Jiuquan during the summer. Spring and winter bring sandstorms and extremely low temperatures to the area, respectively.

Cui cited the launch of the Shenzhou-4 spacecraft on Dec. 30, 2002, saying that cotton quilts were used to keep the rocket warm before launch, as temperatures fell to negative 29 degrees Celsius that evening.

The majority of China's spacecraft launch missions have taken place in autumn. However, after taking the Shenzhou-10 mission scheduled for later this year into account, June emerged as a suitable option, according to the director.

The upcoming launch may face another challenge in the form of strong wind and sand that blew through the area on Wednesday. The winds are predicted to last until Thursday, said Zhang Daochang, a deputy commander at the center.

According to an in-depth weather forecast and analysis of June's weather over the past two decades, Friday and Saturday will be "relatively stable," Zhang said.

"We've sent balloons into the sky and used radar to track the wind speed," he said.

(Xinhua reporter Zhou Erjie contributed to this report.)

Source: Xinhua News Agency

adriana lima victoria secret angels fox 4 fox 4 vs fashion show 2011 victoria secret fashion show brian williams