Marussia F1 hire female test driver

Maria de Villota. (Image from www.mariadevillota.es)

Russia’s Marussia Formula 1 team have celebrated International Women's Day by making Spain’s Maria de Villota their tester for the 2012 season.

"I am very happy to be joining the Marussia F1 Team test-driver program," de Villota told Autosport.com. "This is a fantastic opportunity to work closely with a Formula 1 team and gain important experience to help me progress my career, including the chance to drive the new car later in the year at the Abu Dhabi test.”
The 32-year-old, who has competed in Spanish F3, the Daytona 24 Hours, the Superleague Formula Championship and several other racing series, added that the partnership with the Russian team will boost her “future ambition to step up to Formula 1 racing.”

The Spaniard alreday appeared behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car last year when she tested a Renault R29 at the Paul Ricard circuit, becoming the first female driver to test for a Formula 1 team since Katherine Legge in 2005.

"We are pleased to welcome Maria to our test-driver program, which will enable her to be integrated into a Formula 1 team environment and gain a vast amount of experience that will be useful to her career progression,” John Booth, Marussia’s team principal, commented.

The announcement came on the eve of March 8, which is celebrated as Women's Day in Russia and more than 20 other countries.

Source: Russia Today

US electoral registration: Subject to grave errors

Eric Thayer / Getty Images / AFP

With Americans heading to the polls in 2012, determined to take part in homespun democracy, millions of votes may end up rejected or thrown away when election night comes – all because of the specific voting registration system.

The US is always quick to criticize the election process in other countries, as it has been since the presidential election in Russia last week. 

But in a few months America will have to elect a new national leader using a 19th-century, paper-based voter registration system that has previously left the nation’s electoral rolls plagued by errors and inaccuracies.

According to David Becker, the Director of Election Initiatives for the Pew Center on the States, “About 2.2 million votes were lost in 2008 due to voter registration problems.”

A new Pew report on America’s “inaccurate, costly and inefficient voting system” also found 1.8 million deceased individuals listed as eligible US voters. Plus nearly 3 million citizens are registered in more than one state.

“We found roughly 24 million records that are no longer up-to-date, mostly because people have moved. In some cases because people have died,” David Becker says.

“We found 51 million eligible voters who aren’t on the rolls – that is one in four eligible citizens in the United States,”he adds.

Vladimir Kremlev, RT

For example New York state voting problems during the 2010 midterm elections resulted in a reported 60,000 votes being tossed out uncounted. Officials say the misuse of new electronic, optical-scan machines was to blame. This threatens the integrity of America’s free and fair elections.

“We should assume that every citizen that is eligible to vote, can vote. And if there’s some problem on Election Day, there should be some way that they can correct [it], so that they are not told ‘I don’t see you on the book’,” Lawrence Norden from Brennan Center for Justice in New York maintains.

“Even if you are a citizen, even if you are 18 – your vote is not going to count,” he said

Back in December, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the same thing following Russia’s parliamentary election.

“The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve the right to have their voices heard and their votes counted,”Hillary Clinton declared, while President Barack Obama correctly noted “It all starts with you.”

For the US, the burning issue is not whether the voting system should be upgraded to 21st-century standards, but how fast and which technological innovations should be used. 

In Canada, unlike in the US, the voting system is up-to-date. And it is not only more reliable and quick to track the voting process, it is also many times cheaper. The registration process in Canada costs the budget 35 cents each vote, whereas in the American state of Oregon, for one, the price tag is 12 times that amount.

And come November 2012, American citizens will be counting on US leaders to stand by their words.

Source: Russia Today

Australian businessman admits to link a fake bomb in the neck of a teenager

Admitted to an Australian businessman who is accused of linking the bomb and a fakeneck teenage girl in the suburbs of Sydney pleaded guilty.

Like Peters, Paul Douglas (51 years) in front of the local District Court in Sydney viaclosed-circuit television to answer charges of breaking into the deliberate commission of a crime and subjected to criminal charges.

The defendant faces a prison term of up to 20 years at sentencing this month.

The masked man had entered a house in the upscale neighborhood of Mosman last August and put a device around the neck of a girl / 18 / was alone in the house tickets for lessons in preparation for school exams. He said that the shipment is a bomb asdescribed by police as an attempt to blackmail.

After ten hours, free the girl and the bomb squad said the bomb was a fake.

Peters did not say anything during the hearing, but his lawyer Kathy Crittenden said laterthat he felt regret over the incident.

The former investment banker has traveled to the United States shortly after the accidentdid not resist extradition to Australia.

Source: Jerusalem Arab

Princess Catherine .. In the company of Queen

British Princess Catherine wife of Prince William and son, Crown Prince of Britain,accompanied by the Queen Elizabeth II on a visit to the city of Leicester.

Yani and as part of a tour on the occasion of Diamond Jubilee (60 years) on her coronation.

Source: Jerusalem Arab

Carlos Slim Helú maintains top the Forbes list of billionaires with a wealth of $ 69 billion

Keep a Mexican businessman of Lebanese origin Carlos Slim Helú top of the list of Forbes magazine's annual billionaires of the world wealth is estimated at about $ 69 billion while the rival Mexican Ricardo Salinas Blego largest increase in wealth.
The founder of the company "Microsoft" computer software Bill Gates in second place with $ 61 billion, followed by the owner of the "Berkshire Hathaway investment," Warren Buffett with $ 44 billion. And keep the Frenchman Bernard Arnault, the richest people in Europe in fourth place. The four were in the same ranking last year.
The smallest woman Sara Blakely (41 years), Foundation "Spanks" to lingerie The value of wealth billion in 1153 and occupies the center of the 104 women in the list.
The 58 countries were represented in the list of billionaires, which included 1226 people, the average wealth per $ 3.7 billion of them. The list of "Forbes" billionaires, about 128 of them new Colombian Alejandro Santo Domingo (35 years), the richest billionaire in the new world with $ 9.5 billion, the owner of the "Santo Domingo" after his father's death last year.
In addition to the usual wealthy elderly and survivors came the founder of the social networking site "Facebook" and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg (27 years), ranked 35th with $ 17.5 billion. And announced the largest network of social networking in the world announced plans last month for an initial public offering will make the value of "Facebook" $ 100 billion. And jumped Zuckerberg 17 centers and net worth increased $ 4 billion while the total wealth of the owners of "Vespokt seven $ 28.7 billion, including $ 3.5 billion for Dustin Moskowitz (27 years), a fellow Zuckerberg at the University of" Harvard "in the past and which was included in the list as the youngest self-made man .
The most prominent of the landed this year's list of British novelist JK Rowling author of the series "Harry Potter" after its wealth fell to less than one billion dollars and is due in part to the high tax rates in Britain and the donation of about $ 150 million for charity.Dropped from the list also Balsela C. Co-CEO and Co-Chair of the "Research In Motion," produced for the phones, "BlackBerry."
The United States topped the list again with 425 billionaires, without being affected by the apparent movement of the "occupation" which sought to shed light on the inequality in income. Russia and China for more than occupies the second place with 96 billionaires Milidara compared with 95 for China. Morocco entered the list for the first time in three billionaires. Moscow topped all cities in the world as there are 78 billionaires, followed by New York and the 58 billionaires, then London and the 39 billionaires.
And occupied the sound (72 years), ranked first in the list for the third consecutive year based on estimates of the value of the assets of his empire for communications. Slim and collect most of his fortune pole in the telecommunications industry to expand the activities of retail, finance, commodities and energy. And accounted for in previous years on the big stakes in overseas and have the parts in "Sachs" to manage the shops and the "New York Times" for publishing and "Black Rock" to money management. And sold in the (June) its share in the "Bronco Drellng" oil services for a large profit. Gates and reduced the difference between him and the sound this year after sinking a wealth of sound 74 to $ 69 billion. Estimates of "Forbes" that Gates's wealth increased, from 56 to 61 billion dollars.
Source: Jerusalem Arab

His father sells her baby in Cairo to 8 thousand dollars because of poverty

Criminal elements suspended in Cairo lady sell her baby for $ 50 thousand pounds because of poverty, which is equivalent to 8 thousand dollars.
Security sources said the Directorate of Cairo Security, told reporters that he was seized Fawzia Abdo (38 years - a cleaning lady) of the suburb of "estate Nomadic" north-east of the Egyptian capital, and sell her baby daughter "Dreams" for a couple does not Ingban compared to $ 50 thousand pounds (about 8 thousand dollars) because of extreme poverty and their need for money.
The sources added that he was arrested during the mother accused of receiving money, admitted the incident and decided that her friend's cleaning lady also was behind the idea, citing the commission of such crime, tough physical conditions of its circulation, and was forwarded to the prosecutor and her friend to investigate.
And spread on the outskirts of Cairo districts and slum areas inhabited by hundreds of thousands displaced from villages in southern Egypt to search for jobs, where virtually no employment opportunities and decent life to those villages, especially in the governorates of Assiut and Sohag poorer and unemployment among the 28 Egyptian governorates.
Source: Jerusalem Arab

Vinama ignites the fire in the disappearance of his wife after discovering "Dick"

Always said "most of the fire start from a little spark," was the Sparks this time you have a small, but it has already led to "fire".

The Police in South Vietnam on the man admitted that he set fire to the mother of his sons disappearance after discovering you have been involved in the wrestlers cocks.

She tells the newspaper "Vietnam Net" e that the man poured petrol over his wife isasleep and set fire to them because he believes it is the reason for the disappearance of his religion, which is estimated price of fifty dollars.

The wife is suffering from severe burns and lying in a critical condition. It has survivedthree sons of the fire.

And spread cockfighting in Vietnam, not criminalized under the law only if it includes a gamble.

Source: Jerusalem Arab