Hawaii Gets a White Christmas Following Blizzard Warning

Parts of the Big Island of Hawaii were dusted with Christmas snow following a blizzard warning on Christmas Eve. The two highest mountain peaks on the Big Island, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, got a White Christmas, webcams revealed this morning. Mauna Kea stands at 13,796 feet above sea level, and Mauna Loa at 13,678 feet.

Germany to sell four warships to Israel

Sa’ar class corvettes from Germany, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday, saying the vessels will be an “important component” to Israel’s defensive capabilities. Netanyahu announced the purchase at a graduation ceremony for IAF pilot cadets at the Hatzerim Air Base, near Beersheba. The ships, which will cost more than €1 billion, are expected to be used to defend Israel’s offshore gas facilities. A story earlier this month in Germany’s Bild am Sonntag said that Berlin will pay €115 million toward the cost of the vessels. Netanyahu said the Sa’ar vessels were in addition to the German-made Dolphin-class submarines already in the employ of the navy. Four of these submarines are in service, a fifth one is expected to arrive in 2015, and an agreement for the purchase of a sixth was signed earlier this year. The prime minister, speaking to the cadets a day after sniper in the southern Gaza Strip seriously wounded an IDF soldier, said Israel would not “tolerate attacks against us, neither from the Gaza Strip, nor from the Golan Heights, nor from the Lebanese border or from anywhere; therefore, the IDF responded with force and immediately to the recent attempt by the terrorist organizations to raise their heads.” Netanyahu said that Israel held Hamas responsible for the violations of the cease-fire in Gaza, “and will act accordingly.” In what could be interpreted as a veiled reference to reported Israeli actions from time to time against state-of-the-art arms deliveries in Syria or elsewhere, Netanyahu said Israel’s “counterterrorist actions are carried out in a wide circle, occasionally far from our borders. The air force has a decisive role in implementing this policy on land, sea and air. Our soldiers attack terrorist organizations and systematically disrupt the supply of war material sent to them mainly by Iran and its proxies. We are determined to prevent our enemies from acquiring deadly weapons that could endanger our security.” Netanyahu reiterated that Israel was “determined to do everything to prevent Iran, which has recently again called for our destruction, from attaining nuclear weapons.”

How France has forgotten the Christmas truce soldiers

The Artois region in France still carries the scars of bitter fighting and loss from the trenches of World War One. So why shouldn't one moment of camaraderie between enemies be celebrated and remembered, asks Christian Carion. Memories of World War One can be seen everywhere in the quiet part of the Artois region in northern France where I was born. The war left a trail of cemeteries with well-tended lawns in the midst of fields. Crops now grow around the edges of these spaces where 20-year-old kids from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Great Britain and other countries lie. Forty nations buried their sons in the earth of my homeland. While still a kid, I learnt the names and flags of these countries. I was able to revise my geography while learning about the history of this war. Every autumn, my father and I collected artillery shells which had been brought to the surface by ploughing. We carried them in our arms and laid them down at the entrance to our fields. A Renault 4 from the Prefecture came to load them up like potatoes and spirit them away. Researchers have estimated that the earth will continue to give its own unique account of the Great War for a further seven centuries.

China challenges India's polished diamond throne

(Reuters) - India's long-held position as the world's top diamond polisher is being challenged by soaring output from China, compelling the south Asian country to seek help from ally and top rough diamond supplier Russia to defend its market share. India has traditionally relied on the middlemen in trading hubs of Antwerp, Tel Aviv and Dubai for its supply of rough diamonds, which mainly come from Russia or Africa. Most of the world's diamond output is sent to India for cutting and polishing before being retailed around the world. But China has managed to break the established trade route by getting diamonds directly from African mines in which Chinese companies have a stake. This has boosted the value of China's net exports of polished diamonds by 72 percent in the past five years to $8.9 billion. While India's exports, supplied by firms such as Asian Star (ASAN.BO), Gitanjali Gems Ltd (GTGM.NS) and Venus Jewel, rose 49 percent to $14 billion over that time, shipments have seen a sharp drop this year. "China's active procurement of rough supply from African countries was reducing the supply available to Indian manufacturers," said Sandeep Varia, an executive of Indian industry body Assocham. "Many units across the country had to lay off workers due to losses." As a result, China's share of the global polished diamond market has tripled to 17 percent in the past decade, according to data from the United Nations. India's share has fluctuated between 19 and 31 percent. BRING IN RUSSIA Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who comes from Gujarat where the polishing industry is centred, has answered calls to bolster the diamond sector by convincing Russia to sell rough diamonds directly to India. During President Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi this month, Russia's state-run diamond monopoly Alrosa (ALRS.MM) signed a dozen deals to increase direct rough diamond deliveries to India that would help reduce the cut taken by middlemen in the secretive precious gems trade. The direct deals would also reduce risks linked to Western sanctions imposed over Russia's annexation of Crimea, while Modi is additionally seeking arrangements that would allow Russian jewellery makers to send rough diamonds to India and re-import polished stones duty-free. But to compete effectively with China, India will also need to streamline its tax and import rules, industry sources said. "China is not going to displace India as the leading diamond polishing hub any time soon, but India needs to reform its archaic tax rules to make the Indian diamond polishing industry more attractive for foreign miners," said Martin Rapaport, chairman of diamond and jewellery service firm Rapaport Group. India is looking to build a special notified zone where companies can import rough diamonds on a consignment basis and re-export unsold ones, mirroring China's investor-friendly trading zones that avoid complicated export and import taxes. "These are positive moves for the industry," said Mehul N. Shah, committee member of India's Bharat Diamond Bourse. "It will increase profit margins of the Indian diamond manufacturing industry and make it more competitive." Despite China's upper hand in securing rough diamonds, its cutting and polishing industry is not as organised as India's and rising labour costs are a problem. "The Chinese diamond polishing industry works on a contract-basis and through joint ventures," said Rapaport. "They are consistent at mass producing small stones, but lack the expertise required for bigger and finer stones."

Cuba expats in America weigh return to island

Miami (AFP) - Cuban expatriates in America, including many who risked their lives to escape the communist island, are torn about whether to return after Havana and Washington formally reestablish ties next year. US President Barack Obama last week announced the normalization of relations with Cuba, which were severed in 1961. The surprise move, which clears the way for bilateral trade and normal diplomatic relations, also offers unexpected new options for Cuban-American exiles, who once believed that choosing one of the two countries meant forever closing the option of living in the other. Marisol Camarota said she wouldn't think twice about returning to live in her homeland -- provided she can make a living comparable to what she earns in the United States. By contrast, Hector Martinez -- who fled Cuba years ago on a rickety raft -- wouldn't dream of ever setting foot in Cuba again. The historic thaw between Havana and Washington has led to soul-searching among Cubans who abandoned the island for a better life in the United States. Miami is home to the largest population of Cuban emigres and their descendants, numbering some one million people -- about half the entire exile population. - 'My heart is divided' - View galleryPeople wait in line to check luggage at the ABC Charters … People wait in line to check luggage at the ABC Charters American Airlines flight to Havana, Cuba at … Many, like Camarota, say the sudden diplomatic changes have left them torn.

samsung Phones Revealed Android 5.0 Lollipop Update Roadmap

While earlier this month Samsung Galaxy S5 started receiving the Android 5.0 Lollipop update in some regions, a new page on the Samsung Finland website has revealed a few more devices that are in line. The Android 5.0 Lollipop update list also includes couple of devices that were launched back in 2012. First in line for the Android 5.0 Lollipop update is the Galaxy Note 4, which Samsung already teased in October. The flagship phablet's predecessor, Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is also scheduled for the update. Interestingly, while the page (via GSMArena) shows the Galaxy S5 Mini to be in line for the Android 5.0 Lollipop update, it shows "no information" for its bigger version, the Samsung Galaxy S5. However, the update for the Galaxy S5 has reportedly already rolling out in some regions, and the device also falls under the South Korean smartphone maker's two years or two major updates (whichever comes first) criteria for eligibility. Talking about Samsung's update eligibility criteria, the page also surprisingly shows Galaxy Note II also scheduled for the Android 5.0 Lollipop update. It is worth mentioning that the device was launched in September 2012 and has crossed its two years. The metal-clad Galaxy Alpha and the last year's flagship Galaxy S4 are also in the list of devices due for updates on the Samsung Finland site. Last month, sources close to Samsung also confirmed the Galaxy S4 would be receiving the update early next year, though the timeline may change. Android 5.0 Lollipop will notably be the third major update for the handset, after Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and Android 4.4 KitKat, which puts it outside of the firm's update criteria.

Android 5.0 Lollipop update for Samsung Galaxy Grand 2, S5 Mini, Note 3 Neo, Mega 2 & Grand Prime

Samsung has done an excellent job delivering the Android 5.0 Lollipop update to the Galaxy S5, turning a new page in the book of Software Updates. We already know that the Android 5.0 Lollipop update will be provided to all the galaxy flagship devices including the Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4, but it seems that Samsung might be planning to show a little love to its mid range galaxy owners also. In a new report from our sources at Samsung, it has been indicated that Five Mid Range devices are also being considered for the Lollipop 5.0 update. The devices that were lucky enough to make it are – Galaxy Grand 2, Galaxy Note 3 Neo, Galaxy S5 Mini, Galaxy Mega 2 and Galaxy Grand Prime. Samsung recently stated that it is going to lower the smartphone production in 2015, with less smartphones floating around Samsung can provide better support and hence better Software Update measures. Each of the devices listed above are truly capable to run Android 5.0 Lollipop and considering that most of these mid rangers are a hot sale in Asian markets, where Samsung has been continuously loosing it’s ground to Indian and Chinese manufacturers like Micromax, Lava, Xolo, ASUS, Xiaomi Etc. they might get the Lollipop 5.0 update eventually. *Tip : Stay tuned for more updates on this subject, our source has also mentioned that he/she will be sending us with updated information soon enough.