শুক্রবার, ৪ জানুয়ারি, ২০১৩

Pakistani girl shot by Taliban leaves UK hospital

This photo made available by Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, England shows Malala Yousufzai saying goodbye as she is discharged from the hospital to continue her rehabilitation at her family?s temporary home in the area, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. the teenage Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting girls' education has been released from the hospital after impressing doctors with her strength. Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham officials said Friday 15-year-old Malala Yousufzai will be treated as an outpatient before being readmitted for further cranial re-constructive surgery at the end of the month or in early February. (AP Photo/Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham)

This photo made available by Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, England shows Malala Yousufzai saying goodbye as she is discharged from the hospital to continue her rehabilitation at her family?s temporary home in the area, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. the teenage Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting girls' education has been released from the hospital after impressing doctors with her strength. Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham officials said Friday 15-year-old Malala Yousufzai will be treated as an outpatient before being readmitted for further cranial re-constructive surgery at the end of the month or in early February. (AP Photo/Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham)

This photo made available by Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, England shows Malala Yousufzai saying goodbye as she is discharged from the hospital to continue her rehabilitation at her family?s temporary home in the area, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. the teenage Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting girls' education has been released from the hospital after impressing doctors with her strength. Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham officials said Friday 15-year-old Malala Yousufzai will be treated as an outpatient before being readmitted for further cranial re-constructive surgery at the end of the month or in early February. (AP Photo/Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham)

This photo made available by Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, England shows Malala Yousufzai saying goodbye as she is discharged from the hospital to continue her rehabilitation at her family?s temporary home in the area, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. the teenage Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting girls' education has been released from the hospital after impressing doctors with her strength. Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham officials said Friday 15-year-old Malala Yousufzai will be treated as an outpatient before being readmitted for further cranial re-constructive surgery at the end of the month or in early February. (AP Photo/Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham)

This photo made available by Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, England shows Malala Yousufzai saying goodbye as she is discharged from the hospital to continue her rehabilitation at her family?s temporary home in the area, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. the teenage Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting girls' education has been released from the hospital after impressing doctors with her strength. Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham officials said Friday 15-year-old Malala Yousufzai will be treated as an outpatient before being readmitted for further cranial re-constructive surgery at the end of the month or in early February. (AP Photo/Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham)

(AP) ? Three months after she was shot in the head for daring to say girls should be able to get an education, a 15-year-old Pakistani hugged her nurses and smiled as she walked out of a Birmingham hospital.

Malala Yousufzai waved to a guard and smiled shyly as she cautiously strode down the hospital corridor talking to nurses in images released Friday by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

"She is quite well and happy on returning home ? as we all are," Malala's father, Ziauddin, told The Associated Press.

Malala, who was released Thursday, will live with her parents and two brothers in Britain while she continues to receive treatment. She will be admitted again in the next month for another round of surgery to rebuild her skull.

Experts have been optimistic that Malala, who was airlifted from Pakistan in October to receive specialized medical care, has a good chance of recovery because the brains of teenagers are still growing and can better adapt to trauma.

"Malala is a strong young woman and has worked hard with the people caring for her to make excellent progress in her recovery," said Dr. Dave Rosser, the medical director for University Hospitals Birmingham. "Following discussions with Malala and her medical team, we decided that she would benefit from being at home with her parents and two brothers."

The Taliban targeted Malala because of her relentless objection to the group's regressive interpretation of Islam that limits girls' access to education. She was shot while returning home from school in Pakistan's scenic Swat Valley on Oct. 9.

Her case won worldwide recognition, and the teen became a symbol for the struggle for women's rights in Pakistan. In an indication of her reach, she made the shortlist for Time magazine's "Person of the Year" for 2012.

The militants have threatened to target Malala again because they say she promotes "Western thinking," but a security assessment in Britain concluded the risk was low in releasing her to her family. British police have provided security for her at the hospital, but West Midlands Police refused to comment on any security precautions for Malala or her family going forward.

Pakistani doctors removed a bullet that entered her head and traveled toward her spine before Malala's family decided to send her to Britain for specialized treatment. Pakistan is paying.

Pakistan also appointed Malala's father as its education attache in Birmingham for at least three years, meaning Malala is likely to remain in Britain for some time.

Hospital authorities say Malala can read and speak, but cited patient confidentiality when asked whether she is well enough to continue her education in Britain.

While little has been made public about Malala's medical condition, younger brains recover more fully from trauma because they are still growing. Dr. Anders Cohen, chief of neurosurgery at the Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York, estimated she might recover up to 85 percent of the cognitive ability she had before ? more than enough to be functional.

"She'd be able to move on with life, maybe even become an activist again," said Cohen, who is not involved in Malala's treatment.

In the Swat Valley, people reacted with joy at the news of her release. Family and friends handed out sweets to neighbors in Malala's hometown of Mingora.

"Obviously we all are jubilant over her rapid recovery, and we hope that she will soon fully recover and would return back to her home town at an appropriate time," said Mahmoodul Hasan, Malala's 35-year-old cousin. Like Malala's father, he runs a private school in Mingora.

But the Swat Valley remains a tense place. Only last month, several hundred students in Mingora protested plans to have their school named after Malala, saying it would make the institution a target for the Taliban.

Malala's father vowed to return to Pakistan with his family once Malala is fully recovered.

"I thank the whole of Pakistan and all other well-wishers for praying for her and our family," he said. "What I am doing here is all temporary, and God willing we all will return to our homeland."

___

Zada reported from Mingora, Pakistan. Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana in Islamabad and Sylvia Hui in London also contributed to this story.

Associated Press

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In pass-happy NFL, still helps to be able to run | Sports | The Seattle ...

ASHBURN, Va. ?

As a wideout, Santana Moss wants Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III to throw the ball as much as possible, of course, preferably in his direction.

As a football player hoping to advance in the playoffs, Moss wants the Redskins to do what they've done as well as anyone in the NFL this season: run, run, run.

"That's big to me. Everywhere I've played and been successful, we ran the ball to pass the ball. Nowadays, a lot of teams fling the ball everywhere, and you want to be a part of that as a receiver," Moss said. "But when you really want to win games, you have to have both parts of your offense working, the air and the ground. It's great to see we have that here."

They do, indeed, thanks in part to the man known as RG3, who set a rookie QB record by running for 815 yards, and to another rookie, Alfred Morris, who finished second in the league with 1,613 yards rushing. Washington averaged an NFL-high 169.3 yards on the ground, and its opponent in the first round of the NFC playoffs Sunday is the Seattle Seahawks, who ranked No. 3 at 161.2, led by Marshawn Lynch.

Clearly, as much as the NFL is a passing league, it still helps to be able to run the ball.

"It doesn't have to be great, but you have to have an effective running game to be able to be successful," said two-time Super Bowl champion John Elway, now the Denver Broncos executive VP of football operations. "The reason I say that is because, if you get leads, you've got to be able to eat clock with it and you've got to be able to keep people honest, especially pass-rushing teams."

Elway was the quarterback and Terrell Davis was a 2,000-yard running back when the Broncos won the 1999 Super Bowl, the last time the league's leading rusher earned an NFL championship (their coach then was Mike Shanahan, currently with the Redskins). It's only happened three other times since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, according to STATS LLC, and always by the same guy: Emmitt Smith, with the Dallas Cowboys in 1993, 1994 and 1996.

A season's leader in yards passing, by the way, never has won a Super Bowl in that span, STATS said.

The top three rushers during this regular season are in the playoffs: Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings, Morris and Lynch. Other notable running backs in action this weekend include Arian Foster of the Houston Texans and Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens. The top three quarterbacks in yards passing, meanwhile, are done: Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints, Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions and Tony Romo of the Cowboys. Two of the top three in yards receiving also have plenty of time on their hands now: Calvin Johnson of the Lions and Brandon Marshall of the Bears.

Come playoff time, it turns out, good running performances are a better indicator of success than good passing performances.

In playoff games in the Super Bowl era, teams with a 100-yard rusher are a combined 157-37 (a winning percentage of .809), while teams with a 300-yard passer are 57-66 (only .463), according to STATS.

Admittedly, that presents something of a chicken-and-egg scenario: Did teams get a lead and win because they ran the ball well? Or did they gain a lot of yards running because they already were ahead and were trying to run out the clock?

Either way, the Vikings, Seahawks and Redskins are unabashedly putting emphasis on the ground game. Seattle led the NFL by running on 55 percent of its offense's plays, Washington was next at 52.2, and Minnesota fifth at 48.6.

"I definitely want to keep the running backs highlighted. It's started to turn into more of a spread-, quarterback-friendly NFL," Peterson said, "but just keep letting them know that there are going to be running backs that can do this."

In addition to gaining yardage on its own, a good run game opens up room for play-action fakes to help the passing game.

"Especially in playoff football, it seems like the running game always plays a bigger part. The weather gets bad, it gets windy, and things like that. The ability to run the ball and stop the run is crucial," Redskins defensive tackle Barry Cofield said. "And it's what our team is built on."

Cofield said that Shanahan's first order of business as he opens planning meetings each Wednesday is to talk about how Washington's defense fared against the run in its previous game and what needs to be done against the run in the next game.

With a struggling second-year quarterback in Christian Ponder, and a transcendent running back in Peterson (whose 2,097 yards were the second-most in NFL history), it makes sense for the Vikings to, as their coach Leslie Frazier put it, "make no bones about it" that they're a run-first team.

"We're always confident in our run game. We don't shy away from it, and we know that's the type of team we are," Vikings fullback Jerome Felton said. "I think Coach Frazier built the team like that and we're confident in it. So, yeah, we still think the run is prevalent in this league."

Shanahan and the man he'll try to outcoach Sunday, Seattle's Pete Carroll, both agree with that sentiment.

And both are aware that their bruising running backs - Carroll called Morris "a hammer"; Cofield said Lynch "runs like he's angry at everybody" - provide a big boost to first-year quarterbacks Griffin and Russell Wilson.

"If you have the proper commitment and you build around it, it's maybe the best way you can count on being consistently successful," Carroll said. "And you know that, as you're bringing up a young quarterback, there's nothing better than to run the football as they grow. ... We always want to run the football - for attitude, and just for the style of play."

---

AP Pro Football Writer Dave Campbell, AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski and AP National Writer Eddie Pells contributed to this report.

---

Connect with Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

---

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL

Source: http://seattletimes.com/html/sports/2020051853_apfbnrunningtowin.html?syndication=rss

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বৃহস্পতিবার, ৩ জানুয়ারি, ২০১৩

Chad Johnson Sues Celebrity Gossip Sites Over Sex Tape

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imranijins: Vocational Education - iofyba's posterous

December 26, 2012 Education

Vocational Education

Economies of the world will turn into knowledge economies. With the basics of the world are changing with the evolution of technologies, it is important for a person to specialize in a particular area to find gainful employment.

This type of specialization is taught by vocational schools. In the fields of health, technology, art and business of professional training is offered in general. The classification of these subjects will still be conducted in other courses.

Vocational education has gained increased revival of enthusiasm in the world of today?s demand for skilled workers for the company. Vocational training in the details is extremely diverse theme and title of the analysis of a wide range of references and sources includes several specific questions about education, vocational training and career. You will find many online sources that can help you with detailed information about the training in education. Due to the desperate need that rises on a large scale among corporate houses of skilled workers in the world today believe that the people business schools, rebuild its stable foundation.

Faculty of vocational schools is very experienced. They provide practical knowledge to their students. As a result, students are able to have a real life experience and industry practice. Students are also provided with training.

There are several professional development projects around the world. In fact, every state has vocational schools, where villagers can earn degrees and become part of a dedicated workforce. The majority of these training institutions. Work according to the rules and regulations of the State Department of Education The Ministry of Education of the State or Central Government granted recognition training institute.

AVLC is a center of learning, different types of training, such as vocational training, job training, training, English IELTS and so provides.

Source: http://nationalmilitarychildeducationcenter.net/education/vocational-education.html

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Teens hang on to tree when frozen lake ice cracks

Kirk Webb / Lakeside Fire District via AP

In this photo provided by the Lakeside Fire District, two teenagers hang on to a dead tree after the ice on a lake started to crack in Show Low, Ariz., on Wednesday.

By Vignesh Ramachandran, NBC News

It was a daring mistake that two Arizona teens might never forget.?On Wednesday, they ventured out onto a frozen lake in Show Low, Ariz. -- then the ice cracked beneath them.

"Luckily, they were right by a standing dead tree," Lakeside Fire District?Capt. Dennis Stern told NBC News on Thursday.

For what officials believe was at least two hours, the teens clung onto the tree in the middle of the frozen lake.


Authorities say a third teen was on the bank of Fool Hollow Lake, The Associated Press reported. That individual called their parents, who in turn, contacted authorities, Stern said. After the call came in around 4:45 p.m. local time, the Show Low Fire Department worked with the Lakeside Fire District's ice rescue team to recover the stranded teens.

Related: Strangers rescue sledder who crashed through ice

The temperature?was 27 degrees when the call came in, according to Stern, and plummeted to 22 degrees by the time the rescue was completed. Show Low is in eastern Arizona at 6,400 feet elevation.

"It's still early in our winter season," Stern said, noting that the ice in the area is only an inch or two thick.

The teens were treated for mild hypothermia in the hospital, Show Low Fire District Capt. Brent Mix told the AP.

"Their hands and feet got pretty cold," Mix told the AP. "It was dark by the time we got them to shore."

The ages or identities of the teens have not been released.

Related: Hunter, rescuers brave icy lake to save dog

"There is no such thing as 100 percent safe ice!" the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office in Wisconsin states in ice safety guidelines?on its website.

"Even if ice is a foot thick in one area on a lake, it can be one inch thick just a few yards?away," the guidelines warn. "It's impossible to judge the strength of ice by its appearance, thickness, daily?temperature, or snow cover alone."

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বুধবার, ২ জানুয়ারি, ২০১৩

QPR ends 30-year slump

By ROB HARRIS

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 6:47 p.m. ET Jan. 2, 2013

LONDON (AP) -Shaun Wright-Phillips condemned former club Chelsea to a surprise 1-0 loss in the Premier League on Wednesday and gave bottom-place Queens Park Rangers its first victory at Stamford Bridge in 30 years.

Wright-Phillips struck the ball into the bottom corner of the net in the 78th minute to halt Chelsea's run of four successive wins and leave its west London rival in fourth place.

"We were tired and weren't precise," Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez said. "We made a mistake and gave them their chance."

Both teams were playing in the second tier when QPR last won at its west London rival, in April 1983.

"I can't remember many better wins than this one, with Chelsea flying at the moment," QPR manager Harry Redknapp said.

This victory could help prevent QPR from dropping out of the Premier League after two seasons. Redknapp's side is still in a perilous position at the bottom but now only behind Reading on goal difference.

Not only was this QPR's first away win of the season but also the team's first on the road since November 2011 - when Neil Warnock was in charge, two managerial appointments ago.

"They've set the standard what they've got to do if we are going to get out of this mess," Redknapp said.

The triumph came against a Chelsea side that had been revitalized under Benitez but is now 14 points behind leader Manchester United after the team's fourth loss of the season, albeit with a game in hand.

Despite Chelsea only drawing 0-0 at QPR earlier in the season when Roberto Di Matteo was still in charge, Benitez used the game to rotate the squad, making five changes from the side that beat Everton on Sunday.

"I don't regret the changes because we can't carry on with the same players in every game," Benitez said. "If you're playing a team at the bottom of the table at home, you have to trust your players and I trust them."

Midfielder Marko Marin started despite barely 20 minutes of topflight experience in England, and he was fortunate to avoid being sent off after just four minutes when he launched a studs-up challenge over the ball and into Stephane Mbia's shin.

Benitez didn't use this game to carry out his plan to rest striker Fernando Torres, who has started every league match this season.

Despite rediscovering his scoring touch since Benitez arrived in November, Torres went into the QPR game without finding the net in the past two games after hitting seven goals in the previous six matches.

And the Spain forward rarely looked like breaching Julio Cesar's goal on Wednesday - despite knowing that Demba Ba is soon due to arrive from Newcastle to provide competition up front.

There was a tame low shot in the 39th minute that Cesar easily collected on a frustrating for Torres in which he struggled to find space.

Throughout the first half, Chelsea struggled to break down its resilient visitors, with David Luiz's scuffed shot flying over, Oscar's shot blocked by Cesar's legs and Victor Moses firing over.

"Our 'keeper was different class tonight," Redknapp said. "He gave us the feeling he was never going to get beat."

But the intensity from Chelsea stepped up immediately at the start of the second half.

An inviting cross from Marin was poked wide by Moses, Branislav Ivanovic headed over from a corner, and Torres was denied with a first-time strike from point-blank range.

To inject more creativity, Eden Hazard took Marin's place on the hour, but QPR was creating moments of danger.

Jamie Mackie's run on goal was snuffed out by Cahill, before Shaun Derry's header at far post from a corner was collected by goalkeeper Ross Turnbull.

Moses came close when a shot spun over from distance and Frank Lampard had a goal ruled out for offside. But it was QPR which took the lead after Chelsea had failed to properly clear a corner, and Adel Taarabt teed up Wright-Phillips for the winner.

"If we work hard for the rest of the season we'll give ourselves a chance," Redknapp said.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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QPR ends 30-year slump

??Shaun Wright-Phillips condemned former club Chelsea to a surprise 1-0 loss in the Premier League on Wednesday and gave bottom-place Queens Park Rangers its first victory at Stamford Bridge in 30 years.

Transfer spec? Start with Sneijder

CFT: January is here, and that means the transfer speculation and scuttlebutt that was on low simmer through the last weeks of 2012 will now be on full boil for the first month of 2013.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/47222163/ns/sports-soccer/

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World looks to 2013 after violence, economic woes

Confetti flies over New York's Times Square after the clock strikes midnight during the New Year's Eve celebration as seen from the Marriott Marquis hotel Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013 in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Confetti flies over New York's Times Square after the clock strikes midnight during the New Year's Eve celebration as seen from the Marriott Marquis hotel Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013 in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Fireworks explode over Elizabeth Tower housing the Big Ben clock to celebrate the New Year in London, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Fireworks light up San Francisco Bay as the west coast city rings in the New Year 2013. The Embarcadero was again the focal point of the New Year's celebrations as people from all over the Bay Area came to ring in the new year on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/San Francisco Chronicle)

Fireworks light up San Francisco Bay as the west coast city rings in the New Year 2013. The Embarcadero was again the focal point of the New Year's celebrations as people from all over the Bay Area came to ring in the new year on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/San Francisco Chronicle)

Confetti and other items from the New Year's festivities litters the street in New York's Times Square early Tuesday morning Jan. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)

NEW YORK (AP) ? As the world rang in 2013 with spectacular fireworks displays and showers of confetti, the specter of economic uncertainty and searing violence dimmed some festivities and weighed on the minds of revelers hoping for a better year.

"With all the sadness in the country, we're looking for some good changes in 2013," Laura Concannon, of Hingham, Mass., said as she, her husband, Kevin, and his parents joined hundreds of thousands of people who celebrated the new year in Times Square on Monday.

Matias Dellanno, 37, of Buenos Aires, Argentina, stood in the middle of the square with his wife and 3-year-old son. His eyes caught the multicolored lighting illuminating the square just before midnight.

"I feel a completely new hope for 2013," he said. "It can't be any worse than last year, when my business lost clients. It was a rough year for everyone. The new year has to be better!"

Revelers with New Year's hats and sunglasses boasting "2013" packed the streets in the 35-degree cold to count down the first ball drop in decades without Dick Clark, who died in April and was honored with his name printed on confetti and on one of the crystal panels on the Times Square ball.

Syracuse University student Taylor Nanz, 18, said she and a friend had been standing in Times Square since 1:20 p.m. Monday. They hadn't moved from their spot because "if you leave, you lose your place," she said.

"It's the first time - and the last time," she said. "Never again."

Security in Times Square was tight, with a mass of uniformed police and plainclothes officers assigned to blend into the crowd. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly claimed that Times Square would be the "safest place in the world on New Year's Eve," and officers used barriers to prevent overcrowding and checkpoints to inspect vehicles, enforce an alcohol ban and check handbags.

In the state capital of California, a midnight fireworks show was canceled after a fight at a Sacramento restaurant ended with two people fatally shot and three injured.

But in Las Vegas, police and about 300 Nevada National Guard troops kept the night peaceful, with only 13 people arrested. Sin City hosted sold-out concerts featuring Beyonc?, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Black Keys, and revelers jammed the Strip to watch as seven hotel-casinos unleashed identical eight-minute rooftop fireworks displays at midnight.

The celebrations on the West Coast took place nearly 24 hours after lavish fireworks displays lit up skylines in Sydney, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

In Myanmar, about 90,000 people gathered in a field to watch a countdown for the first time, according to organizers. The reformist government that took office in 2011 in the country, long under military rule, threw its first public New Year's celebration in decades.

In the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai, multicolored fireworks danced up and down the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.

In Rome, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated with a vespers service in St. Peter's Basilica to give thanks for 2012 and look ahead to 2013. He said that despite all the death and injustice in the world, goodness prevails.

In Russia, spectators filled Moscow's Red Square as fireworks exploded near the Kremlin. In Rio de Janeiro, revelers dressed head-to-toe in white as dictated by Brazilian tradition flooded onto Copacabana beach for a concert.

In London, the chimes of the clock inside the Big Ben tower counted down the final seconds of 2012 and fireworks dazzled the sky above Parliament Square. Streamers shot out of the London Eye wheel and blazing rockets launched from the banks of the River Thames.

But parts of Europe held scaled-back festivities and street parties, the mood was restrained - if hopeful - for a 2013 that is projected to be a sixth straight year of recession amid Greece's worst economic crisis since World War II.

Festivities were canceled across New Delhi, the Indian capital, amid days of mourning and reflection about women's safety after a rape victim died on Saturday.

In Times Square, some revelers checked their cellphones for news of lawmakers' tentative deal to skirt the so-called "fiscal cliff," a combination of expiring tax cuts and spending cuts that threatened to reverberate globally. The U.S. Senate approved a bill to avert the cliff well after midnight, though a vote in the House was pending Tuesday or Wednesday.

The recent elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn., and the devastation from Superstorm Sandy also mingled amid the memories of 2012.

"This has been a very eventful year, on many levels," Denise Norris said as she and her husband, the Rev. Urie Norris, surveyed the Times Square crowd waiting for the countdown show with Ryan Seacrest as host.

Seacrest remembered Clark and his legacy, saying it was one that would be continued, and that Clark himself had told him: "Seacrest, the show must go on."

Yvonne Gomez, 53, a physician from Grand Forks, N.D., glowed as she and her husband, 63-year-old potato farmer Gregg Halverson, took in the festivities in New York.

"I couldn't begin the new year in a more beautiful way," she said. "I married him two weeks ago and here we are in the middle of Times Square celebrating the new year ? two widowers who found each other."

For Elvis Rivera, of Manhattan, who stopped by Times Square to take photos, 2012 a death and job losses in his family. How did he feel about its end?

"Relieved," Rivera said.

___

Associated Press writers Hannah Drier in Las Vegas; Colleen Long in New York; Aye Aye Win in Yangon, Myanmar; Silvia Hui in London, and Ashok Sharma in New Delhi contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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