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Thursday, February 28, 2013

State oil firm warns Nigeria rating at risk if debt deal blocked

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's state oil firm has told politicians any move to block its deals to finance payment of $3.5 billion owed to fuel traders could expose Africa's second-largest economy to a sovereign credit downgrade or a banking crisis.

Major oil trading houses including Vitol , Glencore, Trafigura and Mercuria are owed millions of dollars by Nigeria for fuel deliveries, according to a government-commissioned report released last year.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (NNPC) accumulated the debts to traders, some of which are three years old, due to non-payment of fuel subsidies by the government, the head of the company told parliament on Monday.

The Finance Ministry did not respond to calls for comment.

Trafigura, Mercuria, Vitol and Glencore all declined comment.

Group Managing Director Andrew Yakubu told lawmakers NNPC was borrowing $1.56 billion through a special purpose vehicle to offset part of the fuel import debts and that it had allocated 15,000 barrels per day of oil output for a period of up to five years to pay back the money, the company said in a statement.

Standard Chartered, which managed the banking deal, declined official comment.

Yakubu said the company planned to settle the remaining debts through a second such forward sales arrangement as well as internal resources.

Lawmakers have questioned the fund-raising deal, saying NNPC is not allowed to take out loans under rules set out in the constitution.

NNPC says it was not a loan.

"The exposure of domestic banks is about $1.5 billion, and a default of this magnitude of exposure could lead to another round of banking crisis," NNPC said in a statement.

"The NNPC GMD stated that the continued delay has dire consequences ranging from a major negative impact on the sovereign credit rating to costly litigation against the federal government in foreign courts," it added.

The House of Representatives committee asked to see NNPC's documents and said it would investigate.

CREDIT RATING

Credit rating agency Standard and Poor's upgraded Nigeria in November, citing improved financial stability and optimism over banking and electricity reforms. Its ratings from the three major agencies are still in junk territory, however, at BB- from S&P and Fitch and Ba3 from Moody's.

Nigeria's banking crisis ended with a sharp recovery in bank earnings last year after a 2009 credit crisis led to the near collapse of nine lenders.

OPEC member Nigeria is among the world's top 10 crude oil exporters but has insufficient refining capacity to meet its domestic fuel needs and relies heavily on imports of oil products. The government uses subsidies to keep a lid on retail petrol prices.

President Goodluck Jonathan attempted to end fuel subsidies a year ago but backed down after it sparked widespread protests.

Decades of mismanagement and corruption have left NNPC heavily indebted, several audits have shown.

Trading companies have been battling for months to recoup the money, and some have stopped supplying Nigeria with fuel. Most have remained in the west African country, however, partly because of the huge opportunities it presents in the trading of crude oil.

The government-commissioned report showed that Glencore was owed $138 million, Vitol $198 million and Trafigura $53 million.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/state-oil-firm-warns-nigeria-rating-risk-debt-151648735--finance.html

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Police and firefighters at higher risk for mental disorders following traumatic events

Feb. 26, 2013 ? Police, firefighters and other protective services workers who are repeatedly exposed to traumatic events and are new to their profession are at greater risk of developing a psychiatric disorder, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The researchers also found that protective services workers do not appear to have a higher prevalence of mental health problems than workers in other occupations.

The study results are featured in the February 2013 issue of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.

"Our findings suggest that exposure to diverse types of traumatic events among protective services workers is a risk factor for new onset of psychopathology and alcohol use disorders," said Christopher N. Kaufmann, MHS, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in the Bloomberg School's Department of Mental Health. "When we examined the relationship of exposure to common traumas with the development of mood, anxiety and alcohol use disorders among protective services workers, we found that these workers were at greater risk for developing a mood or alcohol use disorder. Interestingly, this relationship was not seen in those who had been in these jobs for a longer period, but was strong and statistically significant in workers who recently joined the profession. Developing curricula in coping skills and providing timely interventions for early career protective services workers may help reduce future psychiatric morbidity in these workers."

Using data from the U.S National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions researchers compared the prevalence of mental disorders of protective services workers to that of adults in other occupations. In addition, they examined the association of exposure to common traumatic experiences with the development of new mood, anxiety and alcohol use disorders among protective services workers who recently joined the workforce and those who had been in these jobs for a longer period. Lifetime and recent trauma events most commonly reported by protective services workers included: seeing someone badly injured or killed; unexpectedly seeing a dead body; having someone close die unexpectedly and having someone close experience a serious or life-threatening illness, accident or injury.

"The association between the number of different traumatic event types and incident mood and alcohol-use disorders, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder, was virtually confined to the group of early career protective services workers," said Ramin Mojtabai, MD, PhD, MPH, senior author of the study and an associate professor with the Bloomberg School's Department of Mental Health. "Future research should examine the coping skills of protective services workers who have been in these jobs for many years, which might make them less likely to develop psychiatric complications in the face of various potentially traumatic experiences."

The authors note, "Special support programs and services for these early career workers can potentially help to prevent development of chronic psychopathology and attrition from these critical jobs."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

C. N. Kaufmann, L. Rutkow, A. P. Spira, R. Mojtabai. Mental Health of Protective Services Workers: Results From the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 2012; DOI: 10.1001/dmp.2012.55

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/WSK0dd0C2xI/130226141256.htm

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Experts: Pistorius violated basic firearms rules

FILE - In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 Olympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius, in court in Pretoria, South Africa, for his bail hearing charged with the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Even if Pistorius is acquitted of murder, firearms and legal experts in South Africa believe that, by his own account, the star violated basic gun-handling regulations by shooting into a closed door without knowing who was behind it, exposing himself to the lesser but still serious charge of culpable homicide. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FILE - In this photo taken Thursday Feb. 14, 2013 a police officer holds a gun that was alledgedly used in the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp, at the home of athlete Oscar Pistorius, at the Boschkop police station east of Pretoria. Even if Pistorius is acquitted of murder, firearms and legal experts in South Africa believe that, by his own account, the star violated basic gun-handling regulations by shooting into a closed door without knowing who was behind it, exposing himself to the lesser but still serious charge of culpable homicide. (AP Photo/Pretoria News, Phill Magakoe, File) SOUTH AFRICA OUT

FILE - In this photo taken Wednesday Feb. 20 2013 two Tuesday newspaper headlines carrying the news of Olympian Athlete Oscar Pistorius' applications for six firearms are photographed in Johannesburg. Pistorius applied for licenses for six guns a few weeks before he shot and killed his girlfriend and Pistorius says the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp was accidental. Prosecutors have charged him with premeditated murder. Afrikaans newspaper headline left, reads "Police refuse Oscar weapon, gets 9mm license after appeal". Even if Pistorius is acquitted of murder, firearms and legal experts in South Africa believe that, by his own account, the star violated basic gun-handling regulations by shooting into a closed door without knowing who was behind it, exposing himself to the lesser but still serious charge of culpable homicide. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell-File)

FILE - In this frame grab from CCTV footage leaked to M-Net's Carte Blanche program which viewed Sunday Feb 24, 2013, shows Reeva Steenkamp entering the secured access to the Silverwoods housing estate, home of Olympian athlete Oscar Pistorius, some hours before she was shot and killed at Pistorius' home. Even if Pistorius is acquitted of murder, firearms and legal experts in South Africa believe that, by his own account, the star violated basic gun-handling regulations by shooting into a closed door without knowing who was behind it, exposing himself to the lesser but still serious charge of culpable homicide. (AP Photo/M-Net Carte Blanche, File)

FILE - In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius stands in the dock during his bail hearing at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa. Even if Pistorius is acquitted of murder, firearms and legal experts in South Africa believe that, by his own account, the star violated basic gun-handling regulations by shooting into a closed door without knowing who was behind it, exposing himself to the lesser but still serious charge of culpable homicide. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe-File)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? Even if Oscar Pistorius is acquitted of murder, firearms and legal experts in South Africa believe that, by his own account, the star athlete violated basic gun-handling regulations and exposed himself to a homicide charge by shooting into a closed door without knowing who was behind it.

Particularly jarring for firearms instructors and legal experts is that Pistorius testified that he shot at a closed toilet door, fearing but not knowing for certain that a nighttime intruder was on the other side. Instead of an intruder, Pistorius' girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was in the toilet cubicle. Struck by three of four shots that Pistorius fired from a 9 mm pistol, she died within minutes. Prosecutors charged Pistorius with premeditated murder, saying the shooting followed an argument between the two. Pistorius said it was an accident.

South Africa has stringent laws regulating the use of lethal force for self-protection. In order to get a permit to own a firearm, applicants must not only know those rules but must demonstrate proficiency with the weapon and knowledge of its safe handling, making it far tougher to legally own a gun in South Africa than many other countries where a mere background check suffices.

Pistorius took such a competency test for his 9 mm pistol and passed it, according to the South African Police Service's National Firearms Center. Pistorius' license for the 9 mm pistol was issued in September 2010. The Olympic athlete and Paralympic medalist should have known that firing blindly, instead of at a clearly identified target, violates basic gun-handling rules, firearms and legal experts said.

"You can't shoot through a closed door," said Andre Pretorius, president of the Professional Firearm Trainers Council, a regulatory body for South African firearms instructors. "People who own guns and have been through the training, they know that shooting through a door is not going to go through South African law as an accident."

"There is no situation in South Africa that allows a person to shoot at a threat that is not identified," Pretorius added. "Firing multiple shots, it makes it that much worse. ...It could have been a minor ? a 15-year-old kid, a 12-year-old kid ? breaking in to get food."

The Pistorius family, through Arnold Pistorius, uncle of the runner, has said it is confident that the evidence will prove that Steenkamp's death in the predawn hours of Feb. 14 was "a terrible and tragic accident."

In an affidavit to the magistrate who last Friday freed him on bail, Pistorius said he believed an intruder or intruders had gotten into his US$560,000 (?430,000) two-story house, in a guarded and gated community with walls topped by electrified fencing east of the capital, Pretoria, and were inside the toilet cubicle in his bathroom. Believing he and Steenkamp "would be in grave danger" if they came out, "I fired shots at the toilet door" with the pistol that he slept with under his bed, he testified.

Criminal law experts said that even if the prosecution fails to prove premeditated murder, firing several shots through a closed door could bring a conviction for the lesser but still serious charge of culpable homicide, a South African equivalent of manslaughter covering unintentional deaths through negligence.

Johannesburg attorney Martin Hood, who specializes in firearm law, said South African legislation allows gun owners to use lethal force only if they believe they are facing an immediate, serious and direct attack or threat of attack that could either be deadly or cause grievous injury.

According to Pistorius' own sworn statement read in court, he "did not meet those criteria," said Hood, who is also the spokesman for the South African Gun Owners' Association.

"If he fired through a closed door, there was no threat to him. It's as simple as that," he added. "He can't prove an attack on his life ... In my opinion, at the very least, he is guilty of culpable homicide."

The Associated Press emailed a request for comment to Vuma, a South African reputation management firm hired by the Pistorius family to handle media questions about the shooting.

The firm replied: "Due to the legal sensitivities around the matter, we cannot at this stage answer any of your questions as it might have legal implications for a case that still has to be tried in a court of law." Vuma said on Monday it referred the AP's questions to Pistorius' legal team, which by Tuesday had not replied.

Culpable homicide covers unintentional deaths ranging from accidents with no negligence, like a motorist whose brakes fail, killing another road user, "to where it verges on murder or where it almost becomes intentional," said Hood. Sentences ? ranging from fines to prison ? are left to courts to determine and are not set by fixed guidelines.

The tough standards for legally acquiring a gun were instituted in part because of a wave of weapons purchases after the end of racist white rule in 1994, said Rick De Caris, a former legal director in the South African police. Under South Africa's white-minority apartheid regime, gun owners often learned how to handle firearms during military service. Many of the new gun owners had little or no firearms training, which brought tragic results, De Caris said.

"People were literally shooting themselves when cleaning a firearm," said De Caris, who helped draft the Firearms Control Act of 2000.

Prospective gun owners must now take written exams that include questions on the law, have to show they can safely handle and shoot a gun and are required to hit a target the size of a glossy magazine in 10 of 10 shots from seven meters (23 feet), said Pretorius of the Professional Firearm Trainers Council.

In his affidavit, Pistorius said he wasn't wearing his prosthetic limbs "and felt extremely vulnerable" after hearing noise from the toilet.

"I grabbed my 9 mm pistol from underneath my bed. On my way to the bathroom, I screamed words to the effect for him/them to get out of my house and for Reeva to phone the police. It was pitch-dark in the bedroom and I thought Reeva was in bed," he testified.

Legal experts said they are puzzled why Pistorius apparently didn't first fire a warning shot to show the supposed intruder he was armed. Also unanswered is why, after he heard noise in his bathroom that includes the toilet cubicle, Pistorius still went toward the bathroom ? toward the perceived danger ? rather than retreat back into his bedroom.

"He should have tried to get out of the situation," said Hood, the attorney.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-02-26-Pistorius%20Shooting-Closed%20Door/id-d87a1cb6e5344be9ba8b91b6a40043ae

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Mac Miller Was 'Skeptical' About Doing 'Most Dope' TV Show

'To see my life as an MTV Show is kind of weird, but it's gonna be tight,' Mac says of his reality TV debut Tuesday on MTV2.
By Nadeska Alexis, with reporting by Steven Roberts

Mac Miller
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702606/mac-miller-most-dope-family-tv-show-mtv2.jhtml

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Obama, top lawmakers to meet Friday on budget cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The White House conceded Wednesday that efforts to avoid automatic budget cuts are unlikely to succeed before they kick in and is initiating new talks with congressional leaders to confront seemingly intractable tax-and-spend issues.

President Barack Obama will meet at the White House Friday with House and Senate leaders of both parties several hours after the deadline for averting the cuts, known in Washington-speak as a "sequester," has passed. This would put the White House and Congress essentially in the position of looking past the cuts to the next looming fiscal showdown: A March 27 deadline to continue government operations or force a government shutdown.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the White House talks, arranged Tuesday, are designed to be a "constructive discussion" about how to keep the cuts from having harmful consequences. Obama has been calling for a mix of spending cuts and tax increases to achieve deficit reduction goals.

The White House has warned that the $85 billion in cuts could affect everything from commercial flights to classrooms and meat inspections. The cuts would slash domestic and defense spending, leading to forced unpaid days off for hundreds of thousands of government workers.

The impact won't be immediate. Federal workers would be notified next week that they will have to take up to a day every week off without pay, but the furloughs won't start for a month due to notification requirements. That will give negotiators some breathing room to keep working on a deal.

The Senate planned to vote on a Democratic stop gap measure on Thursday that would forestall the automatic cuts through the end of the year. It would replace them with longer-term cuts to the Pentagon and cash payments to farmers, and by installing a minimum 30 percent tax rate on income exceeding $1 million.

But Republicans oppose tax increases and will likely block the measure. Carney argued that such opposition would mean the cuts, known as a sequester in budget terms, would be the responsibility of Republicans.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Friday's session will focus on ways to reduce government spending, but he also said he will not back down on his opposition to any new revenues. McConnell, along with House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, will attend meeting at the White House.

"We can either secure those reductions more intelligently, or we can do it the president's way with across-the board cuts. But one thing Americans simply will not accept is another tax increase to replace spending reductions we already agreed to," said McConnell, R-Ky.

Carney said Obama also spoke briefly with congressional leaders Wednesday ahead of a ceremony in the Capitol to unveil a statue of civil rights heroine Rosa Parks. Obama and House Speaker John Boehner jointly led the unveiling, standing with the statue between them as they grasped and pulled in opposite directions on the braided cord that held the covering.

With the cuts now imminent, the administration continued its campaign Wednesday to cast them in dire terms. Education Secretary Arne Duncan appeared in the White House briefing room to detail what he described as bad choices in reducing assistance to schools and early childhood programs.

"The only choice I can make would be to hurt fewer poor children and help more special needs kids, or do the opposite," Duncan said. "It's a no-win proposition."

He said the first to feel the pinch will be school districts in and around military bases and Native American reservations, entities which receive direct federal aid to make up for lower local property taxes.

Duncan's remarks came a day after the Department of Homeland Security announced that the forced cuts had prompted the federal immigration enforcement agency to start releasing illegal immigrants being held in immigrant jails across the country.

Carney on Wednesday said the decision was made by career immigration and customs enforcement officials, without input from the White House.

Friday's meeting reflects a move to jumpstart negotiations after weeks of inaction on cuts that both parties have said could inflict major damage to government programs, the military and the economy at large. No serious talks to avert the cuts have been under way, and Friday's meeting will be the first face-to-face discussion between Obama and Republican leaders this year.

Republicans were considering offering a measure that would give Obama authority to propose a rewrite to the 2013 budget to redistribute the cuts. Obama would be unable to cut defense by more than the $43 billion reduction that the Pentagon currently faces, and would also be unable to raise taxes to undo the cuts. The GOP plan would allow the Obama proposal to go into effect unless Congress passed a resolution to overturn them.

The idea is that money could be transferred from lower-priority accounts to accounts funding air traffic control or meat inspection. But the White House says that such moves would only offer slight relief. At the same time, however, it could take pressure off of Congress to address the sequester.

In the House, where Republicans in the last Congress passed legislation to replace the cuts, Boehner has said it's now up to Obama and the Senate to figure a way out. The Senate never took up the House-passed bills, which expired when the new Congress was seated in January.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-top-lawmakers-meet-friday-budget-cuts-150046443--politics.html

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Mattei takes 'step up' to role in 'Parsifal'

In this Feb. 11, 2013 photo provided by the Metropolitan Opera, Peter Mattei performs as Amfortas in Wagner's "Parsifal," during the final dress rehearsal at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Amfortas, though a supporting role, is crucial to ?Parsifal.? He's the leader of the Knights of the Grail, but is unable to perform his duties because of an agonizing wound inflicted on him by a sorcerer after he was seduced by a beautiful woman. (AP Photo/ Metropolitan Opera, Ken Howard)

In this Feb. 8, 2013 photo provided by the Metropolitan Opera, Peter Mattei performs as Amfortas in Wagner's "Parsifal," during a dress rehearsal at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. When Mattei agreed to debut the role at the Met, he was known mostly as a Mozart singer, and the only Wagner he had sung was the lyrical Wolfram in ?Tannhaeuser.? At first, Mattei confided, ?I was a little nervous to do it. Wolfram for me was spot on, but I knew Amfortas was a step up dramatically. (AP Photo/ Metropolitan Opera, Ken Howard)

It's midmorning, less than 12 hours after he finished another grueling performance as the tormented Amfortas in Wagner's "Parsifal," and Peter Mattei is already singing again.

"My voice is in perfect shape. I could do a show tonight," the Swedish baritone said in an interview last week, midway through a seven-performance run of Wagner's final opera. "I check after each performance. I sing some Bach, some lieder, because I want to make sure everything's OK. So far, so good."

Better than good, the critics agree. James Jorden in the New York Post praised his "velvety baritone," while Manuela Hoelterhoff for Bloomberg News enthused: "I don't think better singers exist anywhere in the world, especially Peter Mattei as Amfortas."

Listeners have a chance to judge for themselves Saturday when a live matinee performance will be broadcast on the radio and shown in HD on movie theaters around the world. Headlining the cast of the new Francois Girard production are tenor Jonas Kaufmann in the title role, bass Rene Pape and soprano Katarina Dalayman. Daniele Gatti conducts.

Amfortas, though a supporting role, is crucial to "Parsifal." He's the leader of the Knights of the Grail, but is unable to perform his duties because of an agonizing wound inflicted on him by a sorcerer after he was seduced by a beautiful woman. His two long monologues in Acts 1 and 3 are punctuated by cries of rage and remorse, often over heavy orchestration.

When Mattei agreed to debut the role at the Met, he was known mostly as a Mozart singer, and the only Wagner he had sung was the lyrical Wolfram in "Tannhaeuser." At first, Mattei confided, "I was a little nervous to do it. Wolfram for me was spot on, but I knew Amfortas was a step up dramatically.

"You have to dig in a little bit," he said. "But I try to do it in the same way as Wolfram, because the beautiful melodies are really there, even if it is very powerful sometimes."

In the Girard production, the physical demands are as great as the vocal ones. While some Amfortases are carried in a chair or stretcher, Mattei staggers on and off the stage leaning on two extras, who have to support virtually his entire weight. Since Mattei is well over 6 feet, that's no easy task, for him or for them.

"Girard told me, 'They are your legs,'" Mattei said. "He told me Amfortas has syphilis, so that's why his legs aren't working. The bone structure is breaking up. My body has this huge tension, singing crumpled over, not using my legs and always leaning on somebody."

Mattei said he wasn't familiar with "Parsifal" when he began studying the role last summer. "I found it a very good piece to not know so much about," he said, "because then you can just listen to the music, and you'll have a much more instinctive input from Wagner than from a professor who knows everything about Wagner and can explain it for days."

Mattei, 47, was born in the town of Pitea in northern Sweden into a family he describes as "quite poor." His father, an Italian, worked in a factory and his mother sold bread in a shop. He said he began singing "before I could speak," though he didn't study music full-time until he was 18.

"Singing is something I cannot be without," he said. "Even if there's no audience. It's a need." In fact, during the interview ? conducted in the Manhattan apartment where he was awaiting the arrival of his wife and two young children from Sweden ? he repeatedly broke into snatches of an aria or recitative to illustrate a point about this or that role.

Mattei made his professional debut in Mozart's "La Finta Giardiniera" at the Drottningholm Court Theatre in 1990, and a year later he drew acclaim in Sweden in Daniel Bortz's "The Bacchae," directed by Ingmar Bergman at the Royal Swedish Opera. An international career soon followed.

He'll be back at the Met next season for Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin." Beyond that, he said, he's interested in exploring some Verdi roles, including the Marquis di Posa in Verdi's "Don Carlo," a role he has sung only in Scandinavia.

And more Wagner? "Maybe the young Wotan," he said, referring to the god who appears in "Das Rheingold," the first opera in the "Ring" cycle.

His fans will be keeping their fingers crossed for that one.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-26-Music-Peter%20Mattei/id-9dbd2e92435147af8136fea593aaf064

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Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 hands-on: a ruggedized smartphone with Android Jelly Bean onboard

It's gotten a bit drowned out in all the Note 8.0 fanfare, but there's another notable member of Samsung's Galaxy being shown off here at MWC 2013: the Xcover 2. Announced late this past January, the Android Jelly Bean (4.1.2) handset is a 4-inch ruggedized device made for active lifestyles. To that end, it bears IP certification for dust- and water-proofing (up to 30 minutes at a depth of one meter). Understandably, its spec load is modest, with a dual-core 1GHz processor (unspecified), 1GB RAM, 800 x 480 display, 4GB storage (expandable via microSD) and 1,700mAh battery.

Since the Xcover 2's meant to be taken outdoors, its body is rife with notches and grips -- so it won't slip out of your hand. The dimpled plastic back, similar to that on the Galaxy Nexus -- has a wrap-around illusion and can only be pried off by turning the lock at its base. Ports for microSD, SIM and 3.5mm headphone jack are all covered by protective flaps, as you'd imagine.

We couldn't get confirmation on the exact CPU inside the Xcover 2, but take our word for it: performance is sluggish. Effect any of the hard Android navigation keys on the bottom and you'll notice a bit of lag before the OS kicks into action. It's to be expected for a device of this nature -- most users eyeing the Xcover 2 likley aren't keen on top-end specs and high-performance. Samsung still hasn't clarified just where or when we'll be seeing the handset crop up, so stay tuned. In the meanwhile, check out our gallery below and brief video demo after the break.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 hands-on