"Rift" maker Trion raises $85 million in new funding (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Video game publisher Trion Worlds has raised $85 million in a new round of funding as the privately held company aims to expand to Asia this year and launch new titles, CEO Lars Buttler told Reuters on Thursday.

Trion, which makes the Internet fantasy game "Rift," has now raised more than $185 million since it was founded five years ago. The company is eyeing the public markets, and could join the recent wave of gaming IPOs such as Nexon and Zynga, Buttler said in an interview.

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, one of Canada's largest pension fund administrators with $110 billion in assets, led the round of funding, while the European media conglomerate, Bertelsmann, also participated. Previous investors in Trion are some of the best known media companies such as Comcast and Time Warner.

Buttler declined to say how much the company is valued at with these new investments.

"Rift" the company's first title, which came out last year, generated $100 million in revenue in 10 months in 2011. Lars said the game is profitable and makes money from players who buy the game, pay monthly subscription fees and purchase virtual items.

The game will be coming out in South Korea between April and June and China at a later date.

Buttler said the funding will serve as the company's "warchest" and it may be used for an acquisition or to licence a game.

Rift competes with "World of Warcraft," Activision Blizzard's massive multiplayer game with 10.3 million players but which has been in decline.

So-called massive multiplayer games allow thousands of people to play simultaneously over the Internet.

Trion, which is based in Silicon Valley, is also working on a new shooter game called "Defiance" that will be released to coincide with a television show of the same name on the Syfy Channel.

(Reporting By Liana B. Baker; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/videogames/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/tc_nm/us_trionworlds

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CA-CANADA Summary (Reuters)

Obama set to reject Keystone oil pipeline: sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The Obama administration was poised on Wednesday to reject the Keystone crude oil pipeline, according to sources, a decision that would be welcomed by environmental groups but inflame the domestic energy industry. The administration could make its announcement on TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline late on Wednesday or on Thursday, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. TransCanada Corp. shares slid more than 3 percent after the news.

TransCanada could reapply with new pipeline route: source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - TransCanada could reapply to build its Keystone XL crude oil pipeline from Canada to Texas after the Obama administration's expected decision to reject the conduit, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. "They can always reapply," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It (the expected rejection) doesn't predetermine future applications. That is always the case. They could always submit a new application with a revised route."

Farmers tiptoe into newly opened Canada wheat market

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - As some of the world's biggest grain traders fan out across Canada's Prairies to compete openly for farmers' wheat and barley for the first time since World War II, they're finding more farmers like Paul Balicki than Stephen Vandervalk. Balicki, from Saskatchewan, says he's been unimpressed with early offers to buy the spring wheat he plans to grow this year, which he's been required to sell to the Canadian Wheat Board since 1943. Like many of the region's 100,000 farmers, most of whom have no memory of a free-market system, change comes hard.

Analysis: Nortel case delay highlights Canada crime approach

TORONTO (Reuters) - The years-long delay in bringing three former Nortel Networks executives to trial for fraud has reinforced Canada's well-earned reputation as a laggard in markets enforcement, particularly when compared with the United States, its critics say. Jurisdictional issues, lack of personnel and a national police task force that has not produced results all contribute to what lawyers and academics say is Canada's dysfunctional approach to prosecuting white-collar crime.

Bank of Canada holds rates, sees faster recovery

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada held its key policy rate at 1 percent on Tuesday, but forecast a faster Canadian recovery than expected despite an increasingly worrying outlook for the global economy. Governor Mark Carney has held the central bank's rate unchanged for 16 months, the longest period without a rate change since the bank began targeting the overnight rate in 1994. A below-inflation 1 percent rate is providing considerable stimulus to the domestic economy, it says.

Government ready to intervene on housing, but not now: Flaherty

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government is watching the housing market closely and is ready to intervene if necessary, but is not about to do so now, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Tuesday, noting he saw indications of softening in the market. He was speaking to reporters after the Bank of Canada said that very favorable credit conditions were expected to buttress housing activity, and that Canada's ratio of household debt to income was expected to rise further.

Canada "has allies' confidence" despite spy case

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada still enjoys the confidence of its allies despite the arrest of a Canadian naval intelligence officer charged with handing over secrets to an unnamed country, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said on Tuesday. Jeffrey Paul Delisle faces a charges of giving "a foreign entity" secret information between July 6, 2007 and Jan 13, 2012. He was arrested in Halifax, Nova Scotia and will stay in jail until his next hearing on Jan 25.

Provinces bristle at federal health "deal"

VICTORIA, British Columbia (Reuters) - The provinces unanimously believe the federal government's unilateral decision to impose a new formula for how it will help fund the public healthcare system "was both unprecedented and unacceptable," British Columbia Premier Christy Clark said Monday. Clark made the remarks after chairing a meeting of the provincial premiers, where the main topic was Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's announcement last month of how much federal health spending would go up for the next decade and beyond.

Reprise for Nortel debacle as Toronto trial opens

TORONTO (Reuters) - Three former executives at bankrupt Nortel Networks reached into the "cookie jar" a decade ago to enrich themselves, prosecutors said, opening a fraud trial that dredged up memories of one of the most spectacular casualties of the 1990's dot-com bubble. The trio - former Chief Executive Frank Dunn, former Chief Financial Officer Douglas Beatty and former Controller Michael Gollogly - misrepresented Nortel's financial results between 2000 and 2004 in a plan that brought them bonus payments while defrauding investors, prosecutor Robert Hubbard said on Monday.

Iran threat should prompt Keystone rethink: Harper

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Iran's threat to block the main oil shipping route out of the Gulf points to why the United States should approve the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Texas, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Monday. "I think it's pretty obvious what the right decision is ... not just from an economic and environmental standpoint, but from an energy security standpoint," Harper told CBC television.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/wl_canada_nm/canada_summary

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'The Pill' Can Help Ease Period Pain, Study Finds (HealthDay)

TUESDAY, Jan. 17 (HealthDay News) -- There's more evidence that use of the oral contraceptive pill can help ease the cramps, bloating and other pain some women experience during their period.

Some previous research, as well as anecdotal evidence, have suggested that the Pill could help women with painful periods, but a 2009 review of all available research concluded there was limited evidence for such a conclusion.

The new findings, from a Swedish study that has been running for 30 years, show that women who used the combined birth control pill (estrogen plus progestin) suffered less severe pain than women who did not use the Pill, the researchers said.

Their study findings appear online Jan. 18 in the journal Human Reproduction.

Experts estimate that pain associated with menstrual periods accounts for 600 million lost working hours and $2 billion in lost productivity in the United States each year.

One expert in the United States noted that doctors have long used the Pill to help ease such symptoms.

"Many obstetrician/gynecologists have used oral contraceptive pills to help alleviate menstrual pain, otherwise known as dysmenorrhea," said Dr. Jenifer Wu, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "This is technically an off-label use of these commonly prescribed medications," she added.

The Swedish researchers noted that younger women typically suffer more from painful periods than older women. And while they did find that symptoms eased somewhat with increasing age, the effects of age and Pill use were independent of each other and use of the Pill had a greater effect overall.

The study included three groups of women who turned 19 in 1981, 1991 and 2001. Each group included 400 to 520 women, who were asked about their pattern of menstruation and menstrual pain, reproductive history, contraceptive use, height and weight.

The women provided this information at ages 19 and 24.

"By comparing women at different ages, it was possible to demonstrate the influence of [the Pill] on the occurrence and severity of dysmenorrhea, at the same time taking into account possible changes due to increasing age," Dr. Ingela Lindh, of the Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at Gothenburg University, said in a journal news release. "We found there was a significant difference in the severity of dysmenorrhea depending on whether or not the women used combined oral contraceptives."

Dr. Steven Goldstein, an obstetrician/gynecologist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, said: "The study results are not surprising. It's gratifying to see researchers documenting scientifically what practitioners have been seeing for a very long time. The amount of discomfort from a woman's period with a combination birth control pill is a fraction of what it is without the Pill. There is a diminution of pain from the Pill."

For her part, Wu believes that "doctors should include a discussion of all the benefits and risks when presenting birth control options, and the improvement of dysmenorrhea is a significant benefit to oral contraceptive pills."

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about dysmenorrhea.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120118/hl_hsn/thepillcanhelpeaseperiodpainstudyfinds

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White House says Obama's health overhaul on track

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is on track in many states, the White House asserted Wednesday. But officials said the administration is preparing a federal backstop anyway for states in which opposition to the new law has blocked planning.

The law calls for states to build new health insurance markets called exchanges, so that millions of middle-class people who are currently uninsured can buy taxpayer-subsidized private coverage. It also expands eligibility for Medicaid so low-income adults who have no dependent children can get government insurance. Putting the two approaches together, more than 30 million Americans are expected to gain coverage starting in 2014.

But 26 states are asking the Supreme Court to overturn the health care law, and many of those have made little progress in planning their exchanges, even though the deadline clock is ticking. The law says state plans must be approved by January 1, 2013 ? a year in advance of the program's launch ? or the federal government will step in and run things.

"No matter where you live, on January 1, 2014, an exchange will be up and running," deputy chief of staff Nancy-Ann DeParle said on the White House blog.

An accompanying progress report said 28 states and Washington, D.C., are "on their way" toward establish exchanges, widely considered the operational linchpin of the health care law.

With a presidential election and Supreme Court decision on the fate the health care law coming first this year, 2014 seems like a long way off even if Obama's signature domestic accomplishment is upheld. But to federal and state officials planning for exchanges, time is short. A totally new marketplace must be created, along with systems for verifying and safeguarding confidential personal information used to determine eligibility.

The White House report put a rosy outlook on the progress in some states.

For example, the report highlighted Idaho among states advancing. Republican Gov. Butch Otter strongly supports a state-run exchange, and his administration has received a $20-million federal grant to start work. But the legislature has to approve the actual spending of the money, and Republican foes of the federal health care overhaul are trying to block Otter from moving ahead. The issue is one of the most highly contested in this year's legislative session.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-18-Health%20Overhaul/id-af3bfa93e70648c5bee6f22f6bb908ef

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Earthquake hits northeast Iran, 100 injured (Reuters)

TEHRAN (Reuters) ? About 100 people were injured when an earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale hit northeastern Iran on Thursday, state television reported.

The epicenter of the quake, which struck at 4:05 p.m., was 10 km (6 miles) outside the city of Neyshabur, some 70 km from the holy city of Mashhad, the official IRNA news agency said.

There had so far been 36 aftershocks since the main quake, IRNA said, adding that some buildings had been damaged and windows shattered in villages near Neyshabur.

"So far 100 people have been injured. Most of them were treated quickly and some have been hospitalized," state television quoted a local official as saying, adding that rescue workers were in the area.

The news agency ILNA reported that the quake lasted seven seconds and was the strongest felt in the region for 10 years.

Many parts of Iran are prone to earthquakes. At least seven people were killed in a 6.5-magnitude quake that jolted the southeast in 2010, the same region where a huge tremor killed some 31,000 people in the city of Bam in 2003.

(Writing by Zahra Hosseinian, Editing by Tim Pearce)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/wl_nm/us_iran_quake

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Vail Valley Voices: A tale from Africa's bush

Anyone who's ever been on an African safari knows the thrill of getting up close and personal with elephants, rhino and big cats.

The lucky ones will have a tale or two about the encounter.

My wife, Bobbi, and I are no different. In fact, our travel agent has told us about a about several incidents he's experienced while living in the bush.

Unlike your average travel agent, Bill Given of The Wild Source is also a wildlife biologist and is deeply involved in a critical research project to conserve African predators. As a result, Bill spends a great deal of time in the African bush.

So when Bill relates a story, you can rest assured it's not apocryphal.

He once told a story about his team of researchers tracking a particular lion pride in the Masai Mara in Kenya.

The team hadn't had much luck in finding the pride and had just settled in to their individual one-man tents for the evening.

That evening he was awakened around 3 a.m. by a rustling he heard coming from just outside his tent. Thinking it was some innocuous creature, he rolled over and went back to sleep.

When he awoke at sunrise, he found that the disturbance hadn't come from porcupine or bat-eared fox, but rather a male lion that left his large paw print inches from the entrance to Bills tent. Humans aren't normally a part of a lion's diet. Nevertheless, I would have found the experience more than a bit unnerving, even after the fact.

Bill also told how on another occasion a guide and tracker were taking a group of safari goers on their afternoon game drive when after turning a corner in their Land Cruiser, they came upon a pride of seven or eight sleeping lions.

To avoid running into the lions, the guide, who was also the driver, slammed on the brakes. The tracker, sitting atop a special tracker seat rigged over the left front wheel, was accidentally thrown forward from the vehicle.

The tracker, a young Matswana named Ben, landed directly on top of the 500 pound pride male. This so startled the lions that the entire pride scattered into the bush.

As the story goes, Ben moved so fast in returning to the vehicle it was as though his feet never even touched the ground. When recounting the event, several guests later said that Ben literally flew back onto the vehicle.

Meanwhile, after retreating about 20 feet or so, the big pride male stopped, turned and looked back toward the vehicle as if to say, ?Hey, what am I running for?? and casually walked over to the Land Cruiser and marked his territory on its right front fender.

Perhaps not to the same harrowing degree, but Bobbi and I had our own close encounter last November in Botswana. We had just returned from our morning game drive to discover a bull elephant in camp.

It's not unusual for elephants, lions and other animals to wander through camps, but they do so usually at night.

On this day, however, this 6-ton bull decided to take his lunch next to our tent.

Because the elephant appeared relaxed, our guide motioned to me to come stand between him and our tent, about 20 feet behind the elephant. Being on foot that close to a bull elephant in the wild certainly got my heart rate up. However, I soon tired of shooting pictures of the elie's hindquarters and decided to gain a better perspective from the partially enclosed outdoor shower stall attached to our tent.

Our tent was raised about three and a half feet off the ground, putting me in an excellent position to photograph the elie, especially since I could stabilize my camera on the stall's 5-foot wooden privacy fence. The big bull saw me, but didn't pay much mind until he heard my Canon's motor drive.

Suddenly, he took an interest. As he moved toward me, I was in such awe that I literally lost myself in the viewfinder.

Sensing potential danger, Bobbi called out, ?Butch, you better come back in. He's getting kind of close.?

I disregarded Bobbi's warning and kept shooting until the old bull began to reach into the shower with his trunk.

Then, realizing that only a 1.5-inch-thick gum pole privacy fence separated us, I quickly decided that safety was more important than capturing a National Geographic moment.

Butch Mazzuca is an Edwards resident. To see more of his photos from Africa, visit www.flickr.com/photos/72445657@N06/sets/

Source: http://www.vaildaily.com/ARTICLE/20120118/EDITS/120119842/-1/RSS

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Backpack Scooter Has Already Made My Essential Travel Gear List [Concepts]

Airports can be a daunting place to navigate, and trudging to your gate can be time consuming and exhausting. And since Segways are downright obnoxious, I like Gustavo Brenck's Gig Pack concept which straps a collapsible scooter to your backpack. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/JjeBo_yrGME/backpack-scooter-has-already-made-my-essential-travel-gear-list

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