The Top 10 Most Intelligent People in the World

Published: February 6, 2013 at 9:34 am

Have you ever met anyone who knows everything about anything? They know it all and we mean that not in the negative sense of the term. They are some of the smartest people in the world and they have the IQ scores to back it up. They can answer probably anything from simple arithmetic to the most complicated rocket science question. Here is a list of the top 10 most intelligent people in the world.

10. James Woods – 180 IQ

James Woods is a movie, television and stage actor. He has won two Emmy Awards for his performances in “Promise” and “My Name is Bill W” and has been nominated twice for the Academy Awards. He also played the lead role in the television series entitled “Shark.” Aside from acting, Woods is also some sort of math whiz, having studied linear algebra in UCLA while he was still in high school. He was also a full scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before the acting bug hit him.

9. Marilyn vos Savant – 190 IQ

She is a popular columnist for Parade Magazine. Through “Ask Marilyn,” readers can send puzzles and questions on different subjects for vos Savant to solve and answer. Her IQ was the last recognized highest IQ by Guinness before the category was retired in 1990.

8. Kenneth Ferrell – 190 IQ

Kenneth Ferrell is a North Carolina-based doctor who is a member of a number of elite IQ organizations, like the GenerIQ Society, Epimethius Society and the Order of Imhotep. He treats IQ exams as fun hobbies. Ferrell has created several verbal and numerical IQ tests, namely the 12354 and the QUINTIQ.

7. Garry Kasparov – 190 IQ

He is a chess grandmaster from Russia who became the youngest undisputed world champion when he was 22 years old. He beat the then-champion Anatoly Karpov after a grueling duel in 1985. Kasparov held the official world title recognized by the international chess federation until 1993. A dispute occurred, however, forcing Kasparov to relinquish the crown and to form instead the rival Professional Chess Association. In 1997, he lost a chess match to Deep Blue, the first time a world champion had lost to a computer under standard time controls. Kasparov was recognized as the “classical” world champion until 2000, when he as defeated by Vladimir Kramnik. Still, he holds the record for the longest reign at number one.

6. Mislav Predavec – 192 IQ

Mislav Predavec is the founder and president of the GenerIQ Society, an elite organization of some of the most intelligent people in the world. It counts among its members Kenneth Ferrell, who is at number eight in this list. Predavec is a Croatian professor of mathematics based in the country’s capital of Zagreb. He is also the owner and director of a trade company. He loves rock music, particularly the songs of Pink Floyd, and the arts, specifically the works of Leonardo da Vinci. He used to play Mafia Wars regularly as well.

5. Rick Rosner – 192 IQ

By simply looking at his resume’, Rick Rosner would not be thought of as one of the most intelligent people in the world. He has a rough and tough demeanor, having spent a number of years as a bar bouncer. He has also worked as one of those waiters who go around in roller skates. In addition, Rosner has no qualms showing off his body, having been a stripper and nude model in the past. What sets him apart is his 192 IQ. He has put it to good use by joining the television game show called “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” And he does not want to rest on his laurels, as he spends up to 20 hours a day completing IQ exams in a bid to get further up this list.

4. Dr. Evangelos Katsioulis – 198 IQ

Dr. Evangelos Katsioulis is a Greek national who works as a psychiatrist. He has earned degrees in three fields, namely philosophy, medical research technology and psychopharmacology. Katsioulis is also a good painter and a decent swimmer. He also indulges in a lot of traveling.

3. Kim Ung Yong – 210 IQ

This South Korean has a tremendous capacity for both numbers and languages. He started speaking when he was only six months old. By the time he was three years old, he could read several languages already, including Korean, Japanese, German and English, as well as solve complex calculus problems. He also wrote poetry in Chinese and Korean and compiled enough essays and poems for two books. He was already auditing college courses when he was four. NASA then invited him to study in the U.S. when he was eight. By the time he was a teenager, he was already working for them. He then returned to Korea and switched fields from physics to civil engineering. He then published 90 papers about hydraulics.

2. Christopher Hirata – 225 IQ

At the age of 13, Christopher Hirata made waves by getting a gold medal at the international physics Olympiad. The following year, he enrolled at Caltech. By the time he was 22 years old, he was able to earn his PhD from Princeton. He has been working for NASA’s project on how to colonize Mars.

1. Terrence Tao – 230 IQ

He is a mathematician of Australian and American roots. If you think that math is hard enough, just take a peek into the subfields that Tao is involved with: additive combinatorics, analytic number theory, ergodic Ramsey theory, harmonic analysis, partial differential equations and random matrix theory. A recipient of the Fields medal in 2006, Tao holds the James and Carol Collins chair in mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has had good training, learning math when he was barely a toddler, solving arithmetic problems at two years old, studying college level math at nine and getting a gold medal in the international math Olympiad when he was 13. He got his PhD when he was only 20 from Princeton and became a full professor at UCLA when he was 24. He has already published 230 research papers.

TOP 10 MOST GENIUS PEOPLE EVR IN THE WORLD

Top 10 Most Genius People Ever in the world

Friday, November 4th 2011. | Human

Most genius people in the world are interesting topic we will discuss in this article. We’ll talk about the most genius people based on IQ levels, not on discovery or service that they have done. Here is a list of top 10 most genius people in the world.
10. JOHN STUART MILL

JOHN STUART MILL

In the top ten is John Stuart Mill as the most genius people. Mill was a British philosopher. Mill has an IQ of 174. 9. Edmund Spenser

Edmund Spenser

Edmund Spenser was ranked ninth as the most genius people in the world. Spenser was a craftsman from England which is famous for his work The Faerie Queene. Spenser has IQ of 175. 8. Emanuel Swedenborg

Emanuel Swedenborg

Emanuel Swedenborg was ranked as the eighth most genius people. Swedenborg was a Swedish scientist. He also was a Christian mystic. At the age of 56 years, he dreamed, and claimed to have been appointed by god to write Heaven to reform the Christian Doctrine. He also claimed that God had opened his eyes so he could see Heaven Hell and talked with angels. He has an IQ of 176. 7. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was ranked as the seventh most genius people at the Guinness Book of Records. A scientist and writer from Germany. Goethe is the world’s most important figures in German literature. He has an IQ of 179.

6. LEONARDO DA VINCI

LEONARDO DA VINCI

Who does not know Leonardo Da Vinci? Famous artists from Italy are ranked sixth as the most genius people in the world. But would rather spend his life in France. The most famous works of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is a painting. Da Vinci had an IQ of 180. 5. Marilyn vos Savant

Marilyn vos Savant

Marilyn Vos Savant was ranked fifth as the most genius people in the world. An author from United States. Listed as the owner of the 3 highest IQ in the Guinness Book of Record today. With an IQ more than 186. 4. SIR ISAAC NEWTON

SIR ISAAC NEWTON

Sir Isaac Newton was a scientist who is ranked fourth as the most genius people in the world. Scientists who concluded Gravity law. This is famous for her apple tree. A physicist, mathematician, natural philosopher, astronomer, and theologian who came from England. Newton has an IQ of 190. 3. Christopher Langan

Christopher Langan

Christopher Michael Langan ranked third as the most genius people in the world version of the Guinness book of records. United States citizens who are in the list of numbers 2 Guinness book of Records with an IQ of 195. 2. KIM UNG YONG

KIM UNG YONG

The only most genius people who are still alive today. Kim Ung Yong is ranked second as the most genius people in the world. Recorded in the Guinness Book Of Records as the owner of the highest IQ in the world today, the IQ 210. He is a male Korean citizen. Perhaps, he was born into the world as a miracle baby. Kim Small who was 3 years old, can already read-write in 4 languages (English, Korean, Japanese, And German). At the age of 7 years, Kim was invited to the United States by NASA. He completed his Ph.D Professor at Colorado State University before the age of 16 years. Return to Korea he earned a doctorate in civil engineering. Now he works for NASA. 1. James Sidis

James Sidis

Not Einstein, Thomas Alva Edison was not. But it was William James Sidis. Men United States citizen who became most genius man in the world. Why he is less known to the world? This guy is too smart. Just 11 years old, he had entered the University. He became the youngest student at Harvard University. All his life, Sidis have mastered the 200 languages in the world. In fact, he memorized a kind of language as a whole in just 1 day. Extraordinary intellect made him mad. He had no friends or boyfriend. In fact he left home, leaving his family and exile. He died at the age of 46 years in a state of unemployed, alienated, and very poor. With an IQ over 250 he became the most genius people. No related posts

Working with Men to Stop Rape in Africa

Protesters deliver a letter to the office of Kenya's Inspector General in Nairobi demanding justice in the case of a teenage rape victim, Oct. 31, 2013. (Gabe Joselow/VOA)

Gabe Joselow

November 07, 2013

NAIROBI — For too long, gender-based violence has been treated as a woman’s issue, even though the vast majority of crimes are committed by men. Across Africa, more programs are seeking to end the scourge of violence by engaging men on all levels and challenging traditional expectations of manhood.

An example of how governments throughout the continent are trying to prevent rape can be seen in the case Paul, a 33-year old rapist serving a 10-year sentence in Liberia’s Monrovia Central Prison for raping an 11-year old girl. He admitted to the crime, and is now getting counseling through a government program aimed at sex offenders. He spends much of his day learning life skills he hopes will give allow him to lead a less violent existence on the outside.

"I am a rapist. I was put in prison for the past two years and I have been able to improve my life in prison. I do some life skills programs like animal-raising, soap making so I feel so much better. One day I will be released, I will be a good citizen," Paul said.

In Liberia in particular, rape and other instances of gender-based violence were rampant during the country’s long civil war, and have continued to plague the nation since then.

While the government has devoted more resources to helping to support female victims, other efforts are being made to reach out to men, the most likely would-be perpetrators, and to those, like Paul, seeking rehabilitation. It is happening across Africa.

The women’s organization FEMNET, which supports gender equality activities across the continent, has established Men to Men programs in seven countries to recruit more male supporters in their campaign against gender-based violence.

Emma Kaliya, the chairwoman of FEMNET, which is based in Malawi, says it is only natural to involve more men.

“Personally I do not agree that they are the only perpetrators of violence, but they form the higher percentage of those that are called perpetrators, and therefore it is necessary that you bring them onboard and not leaving them behind in this process of eliminating gender-based violence,” said Kaliya.

The campaign to attract more men to the cause seems to be working. Male activists were out in force at a recent protest in Nairobi, demanding justice for a female teenage rape victim whose attackers were set free after being ordered to cut grass as punishment for their crimes.

Regional associate for FEMNET’s Men to Men program in Kenya, Kennedy Otina, was among the protesters that day. He says that growing up, he acted like a “typical African man” with little respect for women.

Then, his girlfriend became pregnant and everything changed.

“The lady eventually gave birth to a baby girl and that is where it was a turning point, because my daughter was so innocent and I was just imagining if I am the one who was discriminating [against] her to that extent, what would happen to the man next door, who does not have much connection to the girl?” asked Otina.

Otina now works in the community to raise awareness of sexual violence. Some of the programs deliberately target perpetrators, and offer counseling to men involved in these crimes.

He said some men mistakenly misinterpret the Men to Men program as some sort of advocacy center that will help defend male perpetrators.

Otina welcomes that misperception, if only because it gives him a chance to have contact with those responsible for violence.

"When there is a case in court then they tend to think or assume that we will be the ones to defend them, to support them in court, but you know when they get to us, we help them understand that violence against women is not acceptable,” explained Otina.

Otina said the key to reaching men on the issue of gender equality and gender-based violence is to relate it to the women who are important in their life, like a sister, an aunt or a grandmother.

Once you bring that to their attention, he said, the process of engagement can begin.

COALITION OF THE WILLING IS AN INSULT TO TANZANIA -SAMUEL SITTA

COALITION OF THE WILLING IS AN INSULT TO TANZANIA -SAMUEL SITTA

Tanzania’s minister for East African Cooperation says the government in Dodoma will consider new strategic alliances after expressing concern about the “strange behavior” of some countries in the East African Community (EAC).
“We are concerned with the actions by Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, which started very suddenly and without consultations. What we thought was a normal state visit by President Kenyatta to Uganda, [but] having reached there, it seems President Kagame was then invited, and they started this so-called ‘coalition of the willing’, which in itself is an insult to Tanzania,” said Samuel Sitta, Tanzania’s East African Cooperation minister.
Press reports say that the “coalition” refers to those EAC countries that want to fast-track regional integration. The press reports some Tanzanian officials as reportedly wanting to go at a more deliberative pace.
Isolation
Sitta says it appears leaders of Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya have taken decisions without properly consulting Tanzania, which he says contravenes the rules of the grouping. But, Sitta rejected recent reports that the government in Dodoma was considering pulling out of the EAC following alleged attempts to isolate Tanzania from the EAC.

“What is happening now to put it mildly is very strange. But, we are not going to pull out. Matters would have to reach a point, where the whole thing is no longer sustainable, and we don’t think it’s reached that,” said Sitta. “We have every right to raise our concerns and to begin preliminary work on new alignments.”
He said the three countries have yet to consult Tanzania on their recent talks about creating a regional program to promote energy efficiency.
“If your neighbors go ahead and talk about self-sufficiency in energy and leave you out completely, how do you proceed with this project? They cost money, so it’s more than isolation it’s like the three countries are trying to pull out of the community, and they are not telling us that that is what they are doing,” said Sitta.
New friends
Sitta says Tanzania will seek to form new alliances with other nations if cooperation between member states within the EAC fails to resolve regional challenges as originally conceived by the grouping.
Uganda holds the chairmanship of the EAC and also chairs the group’s council of ministers. Sitta said Tanzania is seeking an explanation from Uganda before deciding its next line of action insisting that the government in Dodoma has many options for pursuing its national interests.
“We have requested Uganda to explain to us if in terms of strategic alliances, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda feel that they belong more to the northern part of East Africa. That is absolutely fine with us,” said Sitta. “We shall re-align ourselves with South and Central African countries but, we need to be told because these things are not done in a surreptitious [and] sudden manner; obviously we have to seek new alliances.”
Rough patch
Diplomatic relations between Dodoma and neighboring Kigali have been tense after Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete suggested that the governments in the Great Lakes region should try and negotiate with armed groups. Sitta admitted that Mr. Kikwete’s suggestion appeared to have angered Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
“It unleashed a barrage of very negative publicity, which so far has not been condemned or even admonished by the Rwandan government, depicting President Kikwete as a vampire or some sort of Dracula chewing on Rwandan children. It’s the kind of thing that one doesn’t do,” said Sitta. “I don’t think you can call Dodoma-Kigali relations cordial.”
EAC Summit
A summit of heads of state and government is scheduled to be held on November 30. Some analysts hope the leaders’ summit can come up with solutions to help resolve the tensions among the EAC member states. Sitta said Tanzania will seek clarification at the summit before deciding its next line of action.
“We shall demand to be told whether we shall continue as five countries or (whether) our friends are joining South Sudan to form [a] coalition of four and the remaining partners, Burundi and Tanzania, can form an economic and strategic partnership with the DRC …,” said Sitta.
Source:voanews.com

Top 10 Reasons Why Singing is Good for you

Top 10 Reasons Why Singing is Good for you

Article by Bhavana Narayan, August 26, 2013

What do you do when you are happy? What do you do when you are excited? What do you do when you are not so happy? How do you express your emotions? Emotions are the subtleties of the human mind and psychology. They form the basis for thought and expression. Our emotions and how we express them make us who we are. Okay that’s enough talk about emotions! Back to the question! What are the ways we express our emotions? It is through art, through visual and performing arts. Be it dance or music. Music always has a special place in every person’s heart. It makes you sway, it makes you dance, it moves you and touches your soul! Music is rightly called as ‘food for the soul’. And when we are vocal with music, then it’s even better!

Singing is a natural art form, where you use your vocal chords to express yourself. It’s an inborn, natural musical instrument that every human is gifted with. All you need is a sense of frequencies and rhythms, for it to show up. Many times, aren’t you caught unawares, when you sing something along without realizing it, when you’re in the shower or when you cook etc.? That’s the effect of singing. It’s as if you’re singing a lullaby to yourself! You are happily crooning, without even realizing it! You can sing practically anywhere! While you’re driving, while at school, college, work, in the shower, just about anywhere!  Now let’s try and answer another question! Why sing? Because it makes you feel good about yourself. It releases a host of ‘feel good’ endorphins that can make you feel very refreshed. You don’t have to be a professional singer to sing! It’s totally okay to just sing! Go easy on the intricacies! You don’t have to sound good, necessarily, when it is just a hobby. Think of it as a source of recreation, and then things will fall into place. But please do not think of it as a waste of time! That’s totally the wrong idea! The kind of satisfaction and peace that it can give you! Well, you have to experience it yourself! This article talks of ten reasons why singing is good. Actually, I can give you plenty more! Nevertheless, read and discover that an act as simple as singing can do wonders to you!

10. Can help prolong life

Are you aware that healthy and happy singing is the key to a longer life? Once again, you need not be a performing artiste for you to experience this miracle! It does not depend on how well you sing. If you sing everyday, you can have a longer life too! Research proves this right. Singers do have a greater life expectancy than most average adults. If you croon everyday, knowingly or unknowingly, you’re adding more days to your life. You will realize the benefit of this in the long run.

9. Boosts memory

Using music and singing as tools for better memory is not unheard of! This is what our ancestors practiced. You remember the lyrics. You remember the notes. You keep a track of the pitch and the rhythm. All this involves the use of memory, involuntarily. With more of such use, your memory improves. Music helps us remember better, and also more easily. This is especially true with children. Not only that, pronunciation and mnemonics improve too. Studies have found that people with dementia have got cured through singing.

8. Makes you creative

Singing, like any other art form is about being creative. With just seven fundamental harmonic frequencies and eight octaves, music is ad infinitum! There are umpteen possibilities to sing a song differently. In the end you sound different, and this is being creative. You explore a multitude of options to sing. It’s as if your mind and vocals go on a roller coaster ride! Singing is a creative pursuit, where you discover yourself and devise newer methods of expression.

7. Good health and well being

Singing and good health are synonymous. Singing has similar effects on the body and mind, like Yoga. It ensures well being: physical, mental, psychological and social. It improves the posture and breathing. There’s no better breathing exercise, than singing. It increases the capacity of the respiratory system. It improves immunity, so you’ll be less likely to get infected by diseases, when you sing. Basically, singing is an aerobic activity that increases oxygen flow to the body.

6. Healing effects

Apart from time, it is music that heals. The healing effects of music on the mind and the soul are very well known. When you are sad you listen to music. It makes you feel better in no minute! Singing fills the brain with healthy chemicals, so you end up feeling good when you sing. Singing is a mood lifter. It has therapeutic effects.  When you sing, you are always in a good mood. It evokes positive emotions. There is no room for gloom!

5. A way to express yourself

Singing is the most natural form of expression. You don’t have to carry any instrument! You can stand or sit right where you are and sing. It is a way to communicate, creatively and effectively. You can show yourself through the way you portray and paint your emotions, through your singing. Singing is a free and uninhibited channel to express yourself. It gives you a feeling of liberation. “Music is what feelings sound like”

4. Connects you to people

When you sing, it is not only you who can feel the emotions, but also the audience who listen to you. They sway to your tunes. It touches their hearts too! Singing brings you closer to more number of people. Through your music, you can reach out to practically anyone in the world, for music transcends everything! Singing is great for a community life. It increases the bonding between people and makes a society healthy, in terms of culture and morals.

3. The greatest stress buster!

Music is the best and the greatest stress buster! Singing can make you ‘be in the moment’, helping you forget all else. You forget all your worries and sorrow. You forget the world, you forget yourself! It can help reduce fear, hopelessness, anxiety, depression and insecurity. All negative emotions that pull you down will be gone in seconds if you sing! It is nature’s way of helping you feel good, and it’s in your own control! It increases confidence and builds self-esteem and hence, you will never feel low! It reduces feelings of isolation. Sing everyday, and keep stress at bay!

2. Makes you a better person

With everything positive, singing ought to make you a better person. No angst, no regret, no feelings grudge, betrayal and anger! Yes, vicious thoughts do affect your mind when you feel let down or when you feel that injustice has prevailed. But unfortunately, we cannot always hope for things to happen how we want them to! We aren’t always lucky. Sometimes, you need to brace yourself for changes. You have to accept things as they come. There are few things we cannot control, and it is best to let go of them.

When you start singing, you stop worrying about all the unnecessary stuff. Your positive side is at its peak. Say goodbye to the devil!

1. Makes you happy- sing for joy!

Nothing can make you happy the way music can! The best reason to sing is that it makes you feel fabulous and fantastic! It adds zest to your life. Singing is for enjoyment. It greatly enhances the quality of your life. Sing for the pure delight of it, for the inexplicable yet mesmerizing joy of it! I think the primary purpose of singing is because it makes you happy. It keeps you free-spirited and light throughout the day.

“ The only thing better than singing, is more singing”

Racist dad slaughtered his partner and daughter

Racist dad slaughtered his partner and daughter but spared youngest child because she was "pure Aryan"

7 Nov 2013 06:12

John Miller's four-year-old daughter was left for at least 12 hours in the house with the bodies of her mother and sister after the attack

Jailed for life: John Miller

PA

A racist father butchered his teacher ­girlfriend and eight-year-old daughter with an axe and a knife in a drug-induced frenzy.
Crazed BNP member John Miller then fled, leaving his surviving daughter cowering at the top of the stairs.
He spared Amelia, four, because she was a “true Aryan” but a court heard she was alone for 12 hours before police officers found her.
Plasterer Miller, 38, was yesterday jailed for life with a minimum of 15 years after he admitted manslaughter with diminished responsibility.
Leeds crown court earlier heard how Miller erupted in a “psychotic” rage after a decade of abusing drugs including, cannabis, cocaine and steroids.
His partner Sarah Laycock, 31, had her tongue cut out and suffered 23 wounds to her face, neck and chest.

Attacked: Partner Sarah Laycock

PA

Older daughter Abigail was left with nine deep wounds all over her body.
Prosecutor Michelle Colborne QC said Abigail put up a “considerable struggle” as she tried to fight off her “paranoid” dad. Ms Colborne told how the bloodbath began at the family home in Garforth, West Yorkshire, in January 2011.
She said: “He sat down with his family as if it was their last meal. He said they were all going to die. There were warships going to the Gulf and he was being told by signals what to do with Sarah and Abigail.
“Amelia was to be spared because of her superior DNA – because she was Aryan.”
The court heard Miller got his axe from the garage as Sarah took the girls upstairs. When he returned he threw Sarah down the stairs before he launched the frenzied attack.
He fled and police found him the next day naked and “grunting and growling” at a nearby nature reserve. Miller had also slashed his wrists.

Struggle: Abigail Miller

PA

In a mental hospital he told doctors “people with brown eyes were muddying the gene pool” and “voices in his head” told him to kill his family.
Yesterday the judge ruled Miller was fit to serve a prison sentence after psychiatrists disagreed over whether he was a paranoid schizophrenic.
Sarah’s sister-in-law said in a victim impact statement that traumatised Amelia’s only question had been about “the size of the padlock on daddy’s door”.
The family later released a statement which told how their hearts “had been ripped out”.
It said: “We’ll never come to terms with Miller’s reasons why he killed Sarah and Abi, the graphic details are truly horrendous.
"John Miller has single-handedly destroyed our lives. No custodial sentence could ever be long enough.”

Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk.

RWANDA SANCTIONS-U.S

US may consider easing Rwanda sanctions

Envoy says that if Washington believed Rwanda was no longer supporting Congo's M23 rebels it may reconsider situation. Last Modified: 06 Nov 2013 22:21

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame denies his government gives any support to M23 [Getty]

The United States would consider resuming military aid to Rwanda if it found Rwandan support for Congo's M23 rebel group had ended, a senior US official has said. On October 3, Washington said it would block US military aid to Rwanda because of its "support for the M23, a rebel group which continues to actively recruit and abduct children" and which has posed a threat to the stability of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rwanda has repeatedly denied backing the rebels. If it turns out that Rwanda is no longer involved in such activities, if it turns out that their role here has been a positive one... then we would certainly review whether it's appropriate to continue these sanctions. Russ Feingold, US special envoy to the Great Lakes region. M23 is a Tutsi-dominated rebellion of former Congolese soldiers that began taking parts of eastern Congo last year, accusing the government of failing to honor a 2009 peace deal. The group on Tuesday called an end to its 20-month revolt after the army captured its last hilltop strongholds, raising  hopes for peace in a region where millions have died in nearly two decades of violence. Under US sanctions, Rwanda does not get US International Military Education and Training funds, which help train foreign militaries, or US Foreign Military Financing, which funds the sale of US military equipment and services. Russ Feingold, US special envoy to the Great Lakes region of Africa, told reporters that the United States would conduct an investigation and could lift the sanctions if it found that any Rwandan support for M23's use of child soldiers had ceased. "If it turns out that Rwanda is no longer involved in such activities, if it turns out that their role here has been a positive one - and there is much that they have done during this (peace) process to be positive ... then we would certainly review whether it's appropriate to continue these sanctions," Feingold said. "They are based specifically on certain actions that we believe occurred and if those actions cease, there would certainly be a serious review of whether it is appropriate to continue it (the sanctions)." Millions of people have died from violence, disease and hunger since the 1990s as foreign-backed insurgents have waged a series of rebellions, often for control of eastern Congo's rich deposits of gold, diamonds and tin. The M23 is just the latest manifestation of simmering anger toward Kinshasa among ethnic Tutsis in eastern Congo. The real test will be whether government and rebels can reach a lasting political deal.

Source: Reuters

What is polonium?

Read more on the history of the rare and highly radioactive substance found in Arafat's final personal belongings. Last Modified: 06 Nov 2013 15:33

One gramme of polonium-210 could theoretically poison and kill about 10 million people [EPA]

Polonium is a rare and highly radioactive element. It is found naturally in the atmosphere and in the earth’s crust, though in miniscule quantities. World-renowned scientist and Nobel laureate Marie Curie discovered the element in the late 19th century and named it after her native country Poland (Polonia in Latin). Polonium has dozens of isotopes. One of the most common is polonium-210, which emits highly radioactive particles, known as alpha particles. This was the isotope found on Yasser Arafat’s personal effects during Al Jazeera’s initial investigation into What Killed Arafat? Because of its radioactivity, polonium has been used as a trigger for nuclear weapons, and as a power source for satellites and other spacecraft. The Russian space programme used it to heat rovers that landed on the Moon in the 1970s. Polonium is harmless when it is outside the body, but after ingestion it becomes one of the deadliest substances know. An amount equivalent to the size of a particle of dust is lethal. Ingesting just 50 nanogrammes, or inhaling 10 nanogrammes, of the substance can cause death. This means one gramme of polonium-210 could theoretically poison and kill about 10 million people. What are the symptoms of polonium poisoning? Because there have been so few recorded cases, there is not much scientific literature on the subject. The handful of human cases, as well as animal studies, suggest symptoms similar to other forms of radiation poisoning - vomiting, diarrhoea, hair loss, and a low white blood cell count. After ingestion, polonium quickly gets into the bloodstream where it bombards blood cells with millions of radioactive alpha particles, which damages vital organs - first the liver and kidneys, causing jaundice and then the intestines causing toxic shock syndrome. Finally it attacks the heart. How is polonium produced? Polonium occurs naturally in uranium ores, but at extremely small concentrations; as low as 100 microgrammes per tonne of ore. Rather than laboriously extracting it from uranium, modern-day manufacturers create polonium in nuclear reactors by bombarding the element bismuth with neutrons. Most of the world’s polonium supply is produced in Russia. Natural levels of polonium that accumulate on surfaces barely register, and the element disappears quickly. Polonium-210 has a half-life of 138 days, meaning that half of the substance decays roughly every four-and-a-half months.

Source: Al Jazeera

THIS IS WHAT KILLED MR.ARAFAT IN 2004-WIDOW

Palestinian leader Arafat was murdered with polonium: widow

Was Palestinian leader Arafat poisoned? Widow says yes

Wed, Nov 6 2013

By Paul Taylor

PARIS | Wed Nov 6, 2013 3:14pm EST
(Reuters) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was poisoned to death in 2004 with radioactive polonium, his widow Suha said on Wednesday after receiving the results of Swiss forensic tests on her husband's corpse.

"We are revealing a real crime, a political assassination," she told Reuters in Paris.
A team of experts, including from Lausanne University Hospital's Institute of Radiation Physics, opened Arafat's grave in the West Bank city of Ramallah last November, and took samples from his body to seek evidence of alleged poisoning.
"This has confirmed all our doubts," said Suha Arafat after the Swiss forensic team handed over its report to her lawyers and Palestinian officials in Geneva on Tuesday. "It is scientifically proved that he didn't die a natural death and we have scientific proof that this man was killed."
She did not accuse any country or person, and acknowledged that the historic leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization had many enemies, although she noted that Israel had branded him an obstacle to peace.
She told Reuters the polonium must have been administered by someone "in his close circle" because experts had told her the poison would have been put in his coffee, tea or water.
"I'm so angry at what happened and I feel that I'm mourning him all over again. This was an act by cowards."
Arafat signed the 1993 Oslo interim peace accords with Israel and led a subsequent uprising after the failure of talks in 2000 on a comprehensive agreement.
Allegations of foul play surfaced immediately. Arafat had foes among his own people, but many Palestinians pointed the finger at Israel, which had besieged him in his Ramallah headquarters for the final two and a half years of his life.
"President Arafat passed away as a victim of an organized terrorist assassination perpetrated by a state, that is Israel, which was looking to get rid of him," Wasel Abu Yousef, member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The publishing of the results by the Swiss institute confirms his poisoning by polonium and this means that Israel carried it out."
The Israeli government has denied any role in his death, noting that he was 75 years old and had an unhealthy lifestyle.
"This is more soap opera than science, it is the latest episode in the soap in which Suha opposes Arafat's successors," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said.
Investigations into his demise amounted to "a highly superficial attempt to determine a cause of death."
An investigation by the Qatar-based Al Jazeera television news channel first reported last year that traces of polonium-210 were found on personal effects of Arafat given to his widow by the French military hospital where he died.
That led French prosecutors to open an investigation for suspected murder in August 2012 at the request of Suha Arafat. Forensic experts from Switzerland, Russia and France all took samples from his corpse for testing after the Palestinian Authority agreed to open his mausoleum.
"SMOKING GUN"
The head of the Russian forensics institute, Vladimir Uiba, was quoted by the Interfax news agency last month as saying no trace of polonium had been found on the body specimens examined in Moscow, but his Federal Medico-Biological Agency later denied he had made any official comment on its findings.
The French pathologists have not reported their conclusions publicly or shared any findings with Suha Arafat's legal team. A spokeswoman for the French prosecutor's office said the investigating magistrates had received no expert reports so far.
One of her lawyers said the Swiss institute's report would be translated from English into French and handed over to the three magistrates who are investigating the case.
Professor David Barclay, a British forensic scientist retained by Al Jazeera to interpret the results of the Swiss tests, said the findings from Arafat's body confirmed last year's results from traces of bodily fluids on his underwear, toothbrush and clothing.
"In my opinion, it is absolutely certain that the cause of his illness was polonium poisoning," Barclay told Reuters. "The levels present in him are sufficient to have caused death.
"What we have got is the smoking gun - the thing that caused his illness and was given to him with malice."
The Swiss scientists' report, posted in full on Al Jazeera's website, was more cautious. It concluded: "Taking into account the analytical limitations aforementioned, mostly time lapse since death and the nature and quality of the specimens, the results moderately support the proposition that the death was the consequence of poisoning with polonium-210."
Al Jazeera said the levels of polonium found in Arafat's ribs, pelvis and in soil that absorbed his remains were at least 18 times higher than normal.
The same radioactive substance was slipped into a cup of tea in a London hotel to kill defecting Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. From his deathbed, Litvinenko accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering his murder.
Barclay said the type of polonium discovered in Arafat's body must have been manufactured in a nuclear reactor.
While many countries could have been the source, someone in Arafat's immediate entourage must have slipped a miniscule dose of the deadly isotope probably as a powder into his drink, food, eye drops or toothpaste, he said.
BRIEF RECOVERY
Arafat fell ill in October 2004, displaying symptoms of acute gastroenteritis with diarrhea and vomiting. At first Palestinian officials said he was suffering from influenza.
He was flown to Paris in a French government plane but fell into a coma shortly after his arrival at the Percy military hospital in the suburb of Clamart, where he died on November 11.
The official cause of death was a massive stroke but French doctors said at the time they were unable to determine the origin of his illness. No autopsy was carried out.
Barclay said no one would have thought to look for polonium as a possible poison until the Litvinenko case, which occurred two years after Arafat's death.
Some experts have questioned whether Arafat could have died of polonium poisoning, pointing to a brief recovery during his illness that they said was not consistent with radioactive exposure. They also noted he did not lose all his hair. But Barclay said neither fact was inconsistent with the findings.
Since polonium loses 50 percent of its radioactivity every four months, the traces in Arafat's corpse would have faded so far as to have become untraceable if the tests had been conducted a couple of years later, the scientist said.
"A tiny amount of polonium the size of a flake of dandruff would be enough to kill 50 people if it was dissolved in water and they drank it," he added.
The Al Jazeera investigation was spearheaded by investigative journalist Clayton Swisher, a former U.S. State Department Diplomatic Protection agent who became friendly with Arafat and was suspicious of the manner of his death.
Suha Arafat called for an investigation inside the Muqata Palestinian government headquarters and said she and her daughter, Zahwa, would pursue the case through the courts in France and elsewhere until the perpetrators were brought to justice.
(Additional reporting by Gerard Bon in Paris and Crispian Balmer and Ori Lewis in Jerusalem; Writing by Paul Taylor; Editing by Crispian Balmer, Ralph Boulton and Giles Elgood)
(This story was refiled to correct U.S. Secret Service to State Department Diplomatic Protection in the penultimate para).

WHAT KILLED ARAFAT OF PALESTINE????

What Killed Arafat?

The results of a nine-month investigation into what killed the late Palestinian leader.

Al Jazeera has spent nine months investigating the cause of Yasser Arafat's death, which after more than seven years still had not been positively identified.
The material presented here includes the late Palestinian leader's medical file from the final weeks of his life; it includes reports from doctors in both Ramallah and in France, where he ultimately died. Al Jazeera was also given access to his final belongings, everything from his slippers to his iconic kaffiyeh.
All of this was reviewed by some of the top forensic pathologists in the world, in Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Their investigation found abnormal levels of polonium, a rare and highly radioactive substance, on Arafat's belongings, most of which were stained with his bodily fluids - suggesting that the radioactive substance might have been inside his body.
As a result of the investigation, his widow, Suha Arafat, is calling to exhume his body and conduct further tests.
The full medical file, and the final report from the laboratory in Switzerland, can be found here.
DOCUMENTS INFORMATION:

• Arafat's complete medical file, including reports on haematology, biochemistry, toxicology and other studies;
• medical imagery, including CT scans
• The final report on his personal belongings.