Obama tells Egyptians to talk, not fight

By Maggie Fick and Alexander Dziadosz

CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama called on Egypt's government and opposition on Saturday to engage each other in constructive dialogue and prevent violence spilling out across the region.

Bloodshed on Friday killed at least three people, including an American student, and mass rallies are planned for Sunday aimed at unseating Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.

Tens of thousands from both sides rallied again on Saturday across Egypt, although there were fewer reports of violence.

Obama said he was "looking at the situation with concern".

Hundreds have been wounded and at least eight killed in street fighting for over a week as political deadlock deepens. On Friday, a bomb killed a protester at a rally by the Suez Canal. Washington is pulling non-essential staff out of Egypt.

"Every party has to denounce violence," Obama said at the other end of Africa, in Pretoria. "We'd like to see the opposition and President Mursi engage in a more constructive conversation about how they move their country forward because nobody is benefiting from the current stalemate."

He added that it was "challenging, given there is not a tradition of democracy in Egypt".

Mursi's critics have dismissed U.S. calls for restraint as a sign of Washington backing Mursi, just as it backed Hosni Mubarak before he was deposed by people power in early 2011.

They now aim to repeat that feat, hoping millions will march to demand new elections on Sunday - when Mursi completes a year in power. They accuse his Muslim Brotherhood of hijacking the revolution and using electoral majorities to monopolize power.

"Egypt is the largest country in the Arab world," Obama said. "The entire region is concerned that, if Egypt continues with this constant instability, that has adverse effects more broadly." U.S. missions would be protected, he said. Last year, a consulate in Libya was overrun and Americans killed.

ARMY ALERT

The Egyptian army is on alert. Funded by Washington for decades since a peace deal with Israel, the army warned politicians it may step in if they lose control of the streets - an outcome some in the diffuse opposition may quietly welcome, but to which Mursi's Islamist allies might respond with force.

The president met the head of the military on Saturday, along with the interior minister, to check security plans.

Protest organizers said on Saturday a petition calling on Mursi to quit had 22 million signatures - over 40 percent of the electorate and 7 million more than they announced 10 days ago.

The figure could not be verified, but independent analysts say there is a real prospect of very large demonstrations. Organizers have called for rallies in Cairo in the afternoon.

A few thousand activists were camping out at rival centers in the capital on Saturday. There was no sign of trouble, though some 40 were injured in scuffles at Beni Suef, to the south.

In the Sinai peninsula, near borders with Israel and the Gaza Strip, a police general was gunned down. The region's violence is emblematic of poor security since the revolution.

Several offices of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood were attacked on Friday, including in Alexandria where American Andrew Pochter, 21, was fatally stabbed as he filmed events and another man died. In Port Said on the Suez Canal, a home-made grenade killed a protester.

VIOLENCE, CAMPING

The U.S. embassy evacuated non-essential staff and warned citizens to avoid Egypt. An airport source said dozens of U.S. personnel and their families left Cairo for Germany on Saturday.

The U.S. ambassador has angered liberals by saying Mursi was legitimately elected and that protests may be counter-productive for an economy crippled by unrest that has cut tourism revenues.

In the capital, Islamist supporters were still camped outside a suburban mosque where they had gathered in the many thousands on Friday to vent anger and fear over a return of army-backed rule. Some speakers also urged reconciliation.

They had their own security men, carrying staves and wearing protective gear, frisking visitors. One activist, Abdelhakim Abdelfattah, 47, said he hoped to avoid violence but that many Islamists would take to the streets if Mursi was under pressure.

"They'll come down to defend his legitimacy, not with weapons, but with their bodies," Abdelfattah said. "What's the nature of this legitimacy? The ballot box."

On Tahrir Square, seat of the uprising of early 2011, flags and tents form a base camp from where protesters plan to march to Mursi's office. Amr Riad, 26, said: "We're peaceful. But if those who come at us are violent we'll defend ourselves."

Liberal opposition leaders dismissed an offer of cooperation from Mursi this week as too little too late. The Brotherhood, which says at least five of its supporters have been killed in days of street fighting, accuses liberals of allying with those loyal to Mubarak to mount a coup against the electoral process.

A coalition of Islamist groups supporting Mursi said the violence of the past days confirmed there was "a conspiracy to spread chaos in the country and reproduce the defunct regime".

The opposition says the Brotherhood are trying to hoard power, Islamize a diverse society and throttle dissent. They cite as evidence Mursi's broadsides against critical media and legal proceedings launched against journalists and satirists.

With long lines for fuel adding to economic woes, activists hope millions of the less politically engaged will protest out of disappointment that the uprising has not brought prosperity.

Senior opposition figure and Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei said in a message on YouTube Mursi's government had failed, and urged Egyptians to take to the streets peacefully on Sunday to get the revolution back on track.

"All Egypt needs to go out tomorrow to say we want to return to the ballot box, and to build the foundation of the house we will all live in," he said.

The opposition, which has lost a series of elections, wants to reset the rules that emerged in a messy process of army and then Islamist rule since Mubarak fell. It wants Mursi to make way for an interim administration led by a senior judge.

Egypt's leading religious authority warned of the risk of "civil war". A senior figure at Cairo's Al-Azhar institute said Sunday should be a day of dialogue, a "catalyst" for leaders to understand their duty - and the "dangerous alternative".

The head of the Coptic Church also called for dialogue and peace. Millions of Christians worry about new Islamic laws.

(Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh, Omar Fahmy, Tom Perry, Patrick Werr, Shaimaa Fayed and Alastair Macdonald in Cairo, Abdelrahman Youssef in Alexandria and Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia, Jeff Mason, Mark Felsenthal and Pascal Fletcher in Johannesburg; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-violence-builds-american-among-dead-054530510.html

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Syrian rebels capture major checkpoint in south

BEIRUT (AP) ? Rebels captured a major army post in the southern city of Daraa Friday after nearly two weeks of intense fighting, as battles raged between troops and opposition forces in the province that borders Jordan, activists said.

Daraa, the provincial capital of a region that carries the same name, is the birthplace of the uprising against President Bashar Assad that started 27 months ago. Rebels hope to one day launch an offensive from the area to take the capital, Damascus.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists around the country, said Islamic militants led by members of the al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front, captured the checkpoint after a two-week siege.

It said rebels blew up a car bomb Thursday killing and wounding a number of soldiers then stormed the post, made up of two of the highest buildings in the city.

"This post is very important because it overlooks old Daraa," said Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads The Observatory. He added that the capture opens the way for rebels to take the southern neighborhood of Manshiyeh that is close to the Jordanian border.

An amateur video posted by activists showed rebels blowing up one of the two buildings after putting explosives inside it.

"This is considered the most dangerous and powerful post in Daraa and the whole province," said a man whose voice could be heard in the video as smoke billowed from the building.

Another video showed four militants carrying Nusra Front black flag standing in front of the building saying it will be blown up, apparently to prevent the regime from using it in case its forces capture it again.

The videos appeared genuine and were consistent with other AP reporting of the events.

Earlier, the Observatory said intense shelling by Syrian government troops on the village of Karak in Daraa province killed at least 10 women and girls overnight.

Buoyed by an influx of fighters from the Lebanese militia Hezbollah and other foreign Shiite Muslim militants, the Syrian regime has grabbed the initiative in the more than 2-year-old conflict in recent weeks, capturing a strategic town near the border with Lebanon and squeezing rebel positions around the capital, Damascus.

It said two women were killed when a shell hit the home of a local rebel commander. The women killed were his mother and aunt, the Observatory said.

A video posted on an Daraa activist's Facebook page showed the bodies of the women and children allegedly killed in the shelling lying wrapped in blankets. Another video from the village showed residents carrying other wounded into vehicles as women and children wailed.

The videos appeared genuine and were consistent with other AP reporting of the events.

The United Nations has estimated that more than 6,000 children are among the some 93,000 people killed in Syria's more than 2-year-old conflict, which started with largely peaceful protests against the rule of President Bashar Assad. The uprising escalated into an armed rebellion in response to a brutal government crackdown on the protest movement.

In recent weeks, government troops have gone on the offensive against rebel-held areas to try to cut the opposition's supply lines and secure Damascus and the corridor running to the Mediterranean coast, which is the heartland of the president's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Regime forces have also made inroads in the south. Syria's state news agency said Friday government troops were chasing "terrorist cells" in the city of Daraa as well as the surrounding countryside, including along the border with Jordan. It did not mention Karak.

SANA said 18 opposition fighters including Jordanians, a Saudi and a Chechen, were killed and weapons were seized. It did not refer to civilian casualties.

State-owned Al-Ikhbariya TV also reported that government forces seized a truck loaded with weapons and ammunition in the central Homs province apparently destined for rebel fighters. The truck included with anti-tank missiles, machine guns, shoulder propelled grenades and communication devices, the station said.

The United States and its allies recently said they will help arm the rebels amid reports that Washington's Gulf allies have already sent much-coveted anti-tank missiles to select groups of fighters. The U.S. is still trying to sort out which rebels exactly will be given weapons and how, fearing that advanced arms may fall in the hands of Islamic extremists in the rebel ranks.

Meanwhile, the Observatory said a rare attack in Damascus's Old City Thursday was caused by an explosive device planted near a Shiite charity organization. The attack, which killed four people, was first believed to be a suicide attack near a church.

State media showed pictures of the body of the suspected suicide bomber in the ancient quarter. Residents had disagreed on the target of the attack but a government official also said a bomber wearing an explosive belt blew himself up near the Greek Orthodox Church.

Abdul-Rahman, the director of the Observatory, said investigation by activists on the ground indicated that a device was planted near the Shiite charity, and it blew up when this man was walking past. The Observatory originally reported that the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber. The church and charity are only around two dozen meters (yards) apart.

The conflict has increasingly taken on sectarian overtones. The rebels fighting to remove Assad are largely Sunnis, and have been joined by foreign fighters from other Muslim countries. The regime of Assad is led by the president's Alawite sect and his forces have been joined by fighters from Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah militant group, a factor that has helped fan the sectarian nature of the conflict.

In an apparent snub to the targeting of a religious institution, The main opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, said in a statement Friday that it "rejects" actions that violate the unity of Syrians and fuels sectarian strife, blaming the regime for attempting to incite it.

"The unfortunate practices of various individuals do not reflect the true values of the revolution," the statement said. "The Syrian Coalition reiterates that those who commit crimes and infringe on international conventions will be identified, pursued and brought to justice."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebels-capture-major-checkpoint-south-181915493.html

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U.S. citizen killed in Egyptian violence

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (Reuters) - A U.S. citizen was stabbed to death in the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Friday during clashes between supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Mursi, a doctor and three security officials said.

A U.S. embassy official said: "The U.S. embassy has heard of the reports of the death of an American citizen and is seeking to confirm them."

The young American man died from a wound to the chest, said General Amin Ezzeddin, a senior Alexandria security official. Another man, an Egyptian, was killed by a gunshot wound to the head.

The violence erupted when anti-Mursi protesters tried to storm offices used by Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood in Alexandria, a city on Egypt's Mediterranean coast. The American had been recording the events by camera.

"There were two deaths - an Egyptian, and an American who was wounded during the events. He was filming," Ezzedin said.

"He was wounded during his presence in the events and the clashes. He was wounded in the chest, he fell unconscious, he was taken by ambulance to the hospital," he told Al Jazeera's Egypt news channel.

The account was confirmed by Ibrahim al-Roubi, head of the emergency unit in the Alexandria health department, and by two other security officials.

(Reporting by Alastair Macdonald, Tom Perry, Yasmine Saleh and Abdel Rahman Youssef; editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-citizen-killed-egypt-violence-officials-190115008.html

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NKorea likely to get cold shoulder at Asia forum

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (AP) ? The upcoming regional security summit in this tiny Southeast Asian sultanate is the sort of venue where North Korea has often managed to open up sideline discussions with Seoul and Washington. This time, while there will be plenty of talk about Pyongyang, there is little chance of substantive talk with it.

North Korea has sought negotiations with the U.S. and South Korea but has ignored their demands that it first honor prior commitments to move toward nuclear disarmament. At high-level diplomatic talks beginning this weekend, it can expect the cold shoulder from those countries and others frustrated by Pyongyang's insistence on developing nuclear weapons.

After a December long-range rocket launch, a February nuclear test and weeks of threats to launch nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States, North Korea earlier this month made a surprise offer for separate talks with its rivals. Government delegates from the two Koreas met and agreed to hold senior-level talks on non-nuclear issues, but the agreement collapsed because of a protocol dispute. The United States responded coolly to Pyongyang's appeal for direct negotiations, which some analysts view as a familiar effort to win aid in return for ratcheting down tensions.

"While it is certainly preferable for North Korea to pursue diplomatic rather than missile or nuclear tests, all of North Korea's neighbors by now are well aware of North Korea's history of diplomatic initiatives as just another tool through which North Korea has sought to consolidate gains following periods in which North Korean brinkmanship has driven political tensions to high levels," Scott Snyder, a Korea specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, wrote in a blog post.

He added that agreeing to hold talks with the North "and come back to the table as though nothing has changed since the last six-party talks were held in 2008 would imply acceptance" of Pyongyang's rocket launches and nuclear tests.

Whether Washington and its allies ignore Pyongyang's diplomats or not, North Korea's atomic aspirations will top the agenda in talks surrounding the 27-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, which takes place Tuesday in the Bruneian capital of Bandar Seri Begawan.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his counterparts from South Korea, China and Japan will attend the forum and could hold private meetings that touch on Pyongyang. North Korea is expected to send its longtime foreign minister, 80-year-old Pak Ui Chun, to the meeting, according to South Korea's Foreign Ministry.

Because the ASEAN forum gathers diplomats from all six countries involved in long-stalled nuclear disarmament negotiations ? the United States, China, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas ? it has previously provided a chance to use informal, sideline talks to break stalemates over the nuclear issue.

In 2011, top nuclear envoys from the two Koreas met on the sidelines of the forum in Bali, Indonesia, and agreed to work toward a resumption of the dormant six-nation talks, though the negotiations remained stalled. The Koreas' foreign ministers held sideline talks in 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2007, and top diplomats from Pyongyang and Washington also met privately in 2004 and 2008.

North Korea will likely seek similar talks in Brunei, but South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young told reporters Tuesday that officials from Seoul aren't considering meeting the North Korean foreign minister on the sidelines. In Washington, State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Monday that he knew of no discussions planned between Kerry and Pak in Brunei, and that such talks would be "fairly unusual."

Analysts said North Korea appears to be repeating its pattern of following aggressive rhetoric with diplomatic efforts to get outside aid and concessions.

Chang Yong Seok, an analyst at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University, said Pyongyang must do something to show it's refraining from continuing nuclear activities, such as announcing some disarmament steps, if it wants to have talks.

Despite its recent bid for diplomacy, North Korea has raised renewed worries about a nuclear program that outsiders estimate to include a handful of crude nuclear bombs. Pyongyang followed up its February nuclear test, its third since 2006, with an announcement that it planned to restore all its atomic bomb fuel producing facilities. The February test drew widespread international condemnation and tightened U.N. sanctions, which subsequently led the North to issue a torrent of warlike threats and sharply raise tensions on the divided peninsula.

Recent satellite photos show signs of new tunnel work at North Korea's underground nuclear test site, the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies said in an analysis Tuesday. The analysis said it doesn't appear to indicate another atomic blast is imminent but suggests the country has continued to work on its nuclear weapons program even as tensions eased.

Other issues expected to draw keen media attention in Brunei include South China Sea territorial disputes and relations between the U.S. and China, the world's two biggest economies.

China has territorial disputes with the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia over the South China Sea and its potentially oil- and gas-rich islands. Several claimants want group discussions to create a legally binding "code of conduct" to prevent clashes in the sea, but China prefers one-on-one negotiations.

Southeast Asian countries believe that "having bilateral negotiations with a strong guy would be a losing game," said Bae Geung-chan, a professor at the state-run Korea National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul.

Analysts say China and the U.S. probably won't have sensitive talks in Brunei that could change their relations. Their leaders recently held an unusually lengthy informal summit in California, during which both countries expressed optimism that the closer personal ties forged between the leaders could stem the mistrust between the world powers.

During the summit, President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, were in broad agreement over the need for North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons, according to U.S. officials.

___

AP writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nkorea-likely-cold-shoulder-asia-forum-095914963.html

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Man sought in death of ex-Patriot Hernandez's pal

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) ? Police say they're seeking another man in connection with the killing of one of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez's friends.

They've issued an alert and wanted poster for Ernest Wallace, who's considered armed and dangerous. They say he's wanted for accessory after the fact of the murder of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd last week in North Attleborough, Mass., near Hernandez's home.

State police say they're also looking for a silver or gray 2012 Chrysler 300 with Rhode Island license plates Wallace was seen driving.

Hernandez has been charged with murder for what prosecutors say was Lloyd's execution-style killing. He was denied bail Thursday. His lawyer says he wants to clear his name.

Another man was arrested Wednesday in Hernandez's hometown of Bristol, Conn., as part of the investigation. The Patriots cut Hernandez that day.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/man-sought-death-ex-patriot-hernandezs-pal-021247736.html

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Israelis brand selves in solidarity with animals

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Sasha Boojor squirmed and struggled as black-clad masked men yanked him out of a cage and branded him with a hot iron. While the smell of seared flesh was disturbing, he said, this shocking and painful act was worth it: He was showing solidarity with animals that suffer branding on farms around the world.

Boojor claims 30 people have brand themselves worldwide, and thousands more support their effort to make the case for animal rights. The group, like other animal liberation movements, opposes the use of animals for human consumption, research or entertainment, going far beyond demands by more moderate groups for humane treatment and painless slaughtering.

Critics, including some animal rights sympathizers, believe this movement is going too far.

A public branding in Tel Aviv last year launched the movement, called 269Life. Since then it has spread, with brandings in Italy, the United States, Argentina and elsewhere. On Wednesday, 14 people were set to be branded in central Prague.

The group's name derives from a number branded on a calf that activists encountered at an Israeli dairy farm last year. They chose its number, 269, as a way to individualize the calf, which is still alive.

"We aim to bring the pain and horror other animals face each and every day out of the suppressed darkness and into the realm of everyday life," the group states on its website.

In recent months, the group has staged sensational and sometimes gruesome stunts in Israel. They have freed chickens from coops and defaced fountains with severed cow heads while dyeing the water blood-red.

The brandings set them apart from other animal rights groups.

Last October, Boojor and two other activists sat in a mock pen in a central Tel Aviv square, caged in with barbed wire, with tags bearing the number 269 dangling from their ears. One by one, they were hoisted out by men in ski masks and held down to be branded, as bystanders watched in horror.

In video from that event, Boojor is seen writhing on the ground before his forearm is stamped with the number 269.

"What's really unpleasant is the sensation ? a feeling of the skin being torn off ? and you can smell the flesh burning," said Boojor, a 27-year-old from Tel Aviv who works odd jobs. "You feel out of control, and it's easy to understand how animals feel when they are in that situation."

The video of the branding has nearly 270,000 views on YouTube and was a key factor in the group's growth. The group was active on Facebook early on ? the international movement's page has more than 33,000 "likes" ? and has received inquiries from activists elsewhere interested in starting their own branches.

The movement is loosely organized. The different branches are in touch but choose on their own what works locally. Boojor said activists from Holland were attending Wednesday's Prague branding to learn how to stage their own. Leading activists from each country report to Boojor on how many people have been tattooed or branded, and the group uploads photos of those markings to its website.

As 269Life has raised its profile and increased its activities, it has also run afoul of Israeli police.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said nine people were questioned in connection with the fountain stunt, and that an investigation is underway into the group's activities. He called the group a "cult" that "seems quite extreme."

"Going to jail doesn't disturb me," Boojor said. "The captivity of animals is what disturbs me."

Boojor said the branding should have a special resonance in Israel, because Jewish victims of the Nazi Holocaust of World War II were marked with permanent identification numbers in concentration camps.

The use of that imagery sparks outrage. Uri Hanoch, an 85-year-old survivor from the Dachau camp in Germany, said such a comparison is "a sin."

He said, "Branding animals is a matter of identification. Doing it on humans is a disgrace."

Boojor said he has seen progress on the issue of animal rights in Israel, with an increasing number of vegan restaurants sprouting up and vegan products available to a greater degree. Still, he has yet to persuade barbecue-loving Israelis of his view that animals have rights similar to those of humans.

Israel passed an animal welfare law in 1994 that protects animals from abuse and explicitly permits the slaughter of animals for food. Critics charge that police enforce the law selectively and tend to ignore abuses in the farming industry.

Last year an Israeli TV program exposed ill-treatment of animals at a large slaughterhouse in northern Israel, where workers were filmed beating and shocking calves and lambs. Lawsuits demanding the closure of the slaughterhouse were launched, and the cases are ongoing. Most abattoirs in Israel slaughter animals according to Jewish dietary laws, which profess to be humane.

The country has a multitude of animal rights groups with different approaches.

Ben Baron, a spokesman for the Israeli animal liberation group Shevi, said he does not oppose 269Life's approach but called it "aggressive," adding that he thinks educating people on animal rights is a more effective way to raise awareness.

"I understand and relate to the pain, but I don't think that is the way, personally," he said.

The international animal rights organization People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals said the brandings spark important discussions about the issue.

"It's an eye-catching and a head-turning way to draw attention to a very serious message," said Ashley Fruno, a senior campaigner for PETA Asia-Pacific, which oversees the Middle East. PETA itself has been criticized for extreme projects on behalf of animals, sabotaging testing facilities among other activities.

Fruno said several PETA activists have tattooed themselves with the number 269.

"This is a badge of honor for these people," she said.

___

Follow Goldenberg at www.twitter.com/tgoldenberg

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israelis-brand-selves-solidarity-animals-061447667.html

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Verizon's LTE network 'substantially complete' with 500th city

Verizon this morning announced that the fine folks of Parkersburg, WVa., are the proud recipients of its 500th 4G LTE market, and that the rollout of its high-speed data is "substantially complete," blanketing 99 percent of its network. Verizon says more than 95 percent of the U.S. population — some 298 million people — have access to its LTE network. (Though obviously they're not all Verizon customers.)

Some 57 percent of of data Verizon serves up is done over its LTE network.

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/8fzt_UARhgw/story01.htm

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Qatar's new emir raised profile with sports

DOHA, Qatar (AP) ? Qatar's new ruler was the not the first choice to lead the Gulf nation and its growing political and economic ambitions.

Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani became the crown prince a decade ago ? at the age of 23 ? when his older brother Jassim gave up his position as emir-in-waiting.

That began a gradual grooming process for the British-educated Sheik Tamim inside Qatar's security and investment arms, which are bankrolled by enormous oil and gas wealth.

As deputy commander of the armed forces, he had sway over multibillion dollar arms purchases and direct dealing with defense officials from the U.S. and other Western allies. His senior role with the Qatar Investment Authority gave him a powerful voice over the direction of one of the world's most active sovereign wealth funds, whose landmark stakes around the world include Harrods department store in London and luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co.

But Sheik Tamim's most enduring international image to this point has been linked to sports.

His crowning moment came as he helped win Qatar's bid to host the 2022 World Cup. Sheik Tamim and other Qatari officials, however, later faced complaints that the nation used its vast wealth to swing support its way from football federation members in Africa and elsewhere.

Last year was less positive ? an International Olympic Committee member since 2002, Sheik Tamim headed Doha's unsuccessful bid for the 2020 Olympics. Qatar's capital has been mentioned as a possible bidder for the 2024 Games ? an effort that could get a boost from the new emir.

Sheik Tamim ? who also has served as head of Qatar's Olympic panel since 2000 ? helped avoid an embarrassing showdown with Olympic overseers by organizing the first female athletes representing Qatar for last year's London Olympics. Neighboring Saudi Arabia and the Asian country of Brunei also sent their first women Olympic athletes.

Sheik Tamim was educated at schools in England and then graduated from Sandhurst, Britain's prestigious military academy and alma mater for many Middle Eastern leaders.

His two wives include Sheika Anoud bint Mana al-Hajri, a member of a prominent Qatari family. He has six children.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/qatars-emir-raised-profile-sports-145814570.html

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Chris Brown charged with misdemeanor hit-and-run

FILE - In this May 19, 2013 file photo, Chris Brown arrives at the Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas. The Los Angeles city attorney's office has charged singer Chris Brown with misdemeanor hit-and-run and driving without a valid license. City attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan says the charges filed Tuesday, June 25, 2013, involve a minor accident on May 21 in the San Fernando Valley. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - In this May 19, 2013 file photo, Chris Brown arrives at the Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas. The Los Angeles city attorney's office has charged singer Chris Brown with misdemeanor hit-and-run and driving without a valid license. City attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan says the charges filed Tuesday, June 25, 2013, involve a minor accident on May 21 in the San Fernando Valley. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The Los Angeles city attorney's office has charged singer Chris Brown with misdemeanor hit-and-run and driving without a valid license.

City attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan says the charges filed Tuesday involve a minor accident on May 21 in the San Fernando Valley.

If convicted, Brown would face up to one year in jail.

Arraignment is scheduled for July 15 at the Van Nuys courthouse, but an attorney can appear on Brown's behalf.

Mateljan says the county district attorney's office will be notified of the charges and it will be up to that office and the courts to determine if the case will have any effect on Brown's felony probation in the 2009 beating of singer Rihanna.

A call seeking comment from a Brown representative was not immediately returned Tuesday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-06-25-People-Chris%20Brown/id-9ccb578514f747e39189a2963025c891

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Oklahoma set to execute man for killing girlfriend's mother

By Heide Brandes

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - A man convicted of raping and stabbing to death his live-in girlfriend's mother was due to be executed on Tuesday, more than a week after the governor rejected a parole board recommendation to reduce his sentence to life in prison.

Brian Darrell Davis, 38, was scheduled to die by lethal injection at a state prison. He would be the second Oklahoma inmate executed in two weeks and the third in 2013.

Davis was convicted of stabbing Josephine "Jody" Sanford, 52, to death and raping her at the apartment he shared with her daughter, Stacey Sanford, and their child. He admitted killing her during a fight in November 2001, but said he had not intended to do so.

Davis gave several versions of the events, but each one included that he returned home from a club early that morning and discovered that his live-in girlfriend Stacey and their 3-year-old daughter were gone. They were staying at a hotel, prosecutors said.

Davis had called Stacey Sanford's mother twice looking for them, prompting Jody Sanford to go on her own search that took her to the apartment, court records showed. Davis said he and Jody Sanford had consensual sex, argued and fought, and he admitted to stabbing her.

Stacey Sanford found her mother dead when she returned in the morning. Authorities said she had six stab wounds, a broken jaw and marks on her neck. DNA tests determined that semen found in her body matched Davis'.

He left the apartment and drove away in Jody Sanford's van, getting into a single vehicle crash about nine miles away that ejected him from the vehicle. He was in the hospital being treated for serious injuries when police interviewed him.

Davis said Sanford had attacked him and cut him on the thumb and that he never intended to kill her. However, jurors found the killing to be especially heinous, atrocious or cruel and Davis was sentenced to death.

On June 13, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin denied Davis' request for clemency, rejecting a parole board recommendation that his sentence be commuted to life without parole.

(Editing by David Bailey and Richard Chang)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oklahoma-set-execute-man-killing-girlfriends-mother-103247906.html

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Business Analyst Cover Letter Sample

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Biggest and brigest moon of the year awes skywatchers

A supermoon sets near the Statue of Liberty, Sunday, June 23, 2013, in New York. The larger than normal moon called the "Supermoon" happens only once this year as the moon on its elliptical orbit is ... more?A supermoon sets near the Statue of Liberty, Sunday, June 23, 2013, in New York. The larger than normal moon called the "Supermoon" happens only once this year as the moon on its elliptical orbit is at its closest point to earth and is 13.5 percent larger than usual. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) less?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/biggest-and-brigest-supermoon-of-the-year-awes-skywatchers-slideshow/

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Sony Xperia Z Android 4.2.2 update rolling out now

Latest update hitting multiple models in different markets around the world.

Coming in just fashionably late behind its sibling the Xperia ZL, the Sony Xperia Z is receiving an update to Android 4.2.2 starting today. According to reports from users to XperiaBlog, the update is rolling out to several different regions already for the C6603 LTE model, and in Taiwan for the C6602 HSPA+ model. While the official support page hasn't been updated to reflect the newest build, the build number is reportedly the same 10.3.A.0.423 as the Xperia ZL. If you have your hands on an Xperia Z, you may want to download Sony's PC Companion (or Bridge For Mac) for the earliest shot at the update.

This also leads to a few questions about what version of Android will land on the Xperia Z when it hits T-Mobile in short order. Let's hope it's the same updated version as is rolling out worldwide today.

Source: XperiaBlog

More: Sony Xperia Z Forums; Sony Support

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/detfrq9_0wo/story01.htm

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Somehow This WWII Mickey Mouse Gas Mask Was Supposed to Be Less Creepy

Sometimes parents have to explain things to their kids in more child-friendly terms. During World War II, that meant outfitting a child with a weird Mickey Mouse gas mask.

It was 1942, just about a month after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Fearing imminent chemical attack on American soil, the government issued thousands of gas mask to civilians. But the smallest citizens couldn't fit into the regulation-sized masks. They were too heavy and too big. Plus, aren't those things scary?

Well, while the Mickey Mouse mask might have soothed children, it was possibly scarier for mom and dad. Designed to fit kids 18 months to four years old, the mask was supposed to be worn as a sort of game, to take away some of the fear out of a chemical attack. Although, the masks probably weren't supposed to be so freaky. Sure, a child might be safer. But a mother might look at her toddler and think the real enemy was not the Axis powers across the ocean, but the tiny human with the head of a cartoon mouse with a perma-grin sitting in her lap.

Anyway, with Disney's approval, Sun Rubber Company produced 1,000 of these strange masks in 1942. In 1944, it actually won the Army-Navy E for Excellence for producing them. Sun was supposed to make other versions of the pint-sized mask featuring other cartoon characters later on, but for whatever reason never did.

There aren't very many surviving Mouseketeer masks?one belongs to the U.S. Army Chemical Museum at Ft. McClellan, Alabama. There's another one at the 45th Infantry Division Museum in Oklahoma City, and there's another prototype at the Disney Archives in Burbank. But otherwise, these eerie pictures are the only evidence of the odd relic of WWII. [GasMaskLexikon, AtlasObscoura]

Image credit: AP, Allison Meier/Atlas Obscura

Source: http://gizmodo.com/somehow-this-wwii-mickey-mouse-gas-mask-was-supposed-to-562233743

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Taking X-Rays Of Women In Corsets Was A Haunting Use Of New Technology

Any tech that allows humans a new type of insight is inevitably turned on ourselves. We want to know what else we can find out from peering in on our bodies or minds in a new way. Of course, x-ray machines were pretty much used from the start for that purpose, but it's amazing to see these 1908 photos examining how a fashion trend was impacting health.

Even with countless anatomical mysteries to image for the first time, the French doctor Ludovic O?Followell chose to look at and write a treatise on the corset, publishing Le Corset in 1908 (x-rays were discovered in 1895). His images reveal how significantly corsets deformed the lower ribs, pushing them into each other in really gross ways. And even though organs don't show up on x-rays, it's pretty clear that the space left for them was inadequate. Even after seeing these, O?Followell just advocated for modified corsets, not getting rid of them all together. Baby steps, people. [The Public Domain Review via Digg]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/taking-x-rays-of-women-in-corsets-was-a-haunting-use-of-550903527

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Russia to send Olympic torch into space

SOCHI, Russia (AP) ? An unlit Olympic torch will be sent into space ahead of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

The Russian Federal Space Agency will take the torch to the Soyuz TMA-11M manned spaceship in early November as part of the four-month torch relay, which begins Oct. 7.

Once in space, Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryazansky and Oleg Kotov will take the Olympic torch on a spacewalk.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, head of the Sochi organizing committee, says "nobody has done this before. The spacewalk by two Russian cosmonauts with the Sochi 2014 Olympic torch will be an historic moment in the history of the Olympic torch relay."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-send-olympic-torch-space-105953192.html

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How Messy Is Your Computer's Desktop?

We all aspire to a certain amount of digital desktop cleanliness, but I think rather few of us actually keep up on it. As the days go by, the clutter builds bit by bit, and it's just irritating enough to be unpleasant, but not a big enough deal to actually clean up.

So where are you in the cycle right now? How messy is your desktop? Show it off, and no quick cleaning sprees. Not until after you share, anyway.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/how-messy-is-your-computers-desktop-542920795

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Zombies roam the animal kingdom ? and some of them might be after us

David Hughes / Penn State

One fungus took over the brain of this zombified ant, but the first fungus was sabotaged by a different type of parasitic fungus.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

The zombies in "World War Z" are just actors ??but in the animal world, zombies are a fact of life. Evolution can come up with some fiendish twists: For example, there are some species that bend other creatures to their will to keep their bizarre life cycles going. Or just to feast on their delicious braaaains.

To celebrate the premiere of "World War Z," here's a top-ten list of zombies from the animal kingdom, finishing up with a particularly pernicious parasite that can pose a risk to humans:

---

Zombie ants: There are special kinds of?zombifying fungi that infect carpenter ants?in Thailand and Brazil. The fungus?grows into the ant's brain and compels it to climb down and clamp onto to the low leaves that provide the fungus with its favored breeding ground. After the ant dies, the fungus sprouts from its head and shoots out spores to infect other ants. But this zombie isn't invincible: Scientists recently discovered a different kind of fungus that can?castrate the zombifying fungus before it spreads.

Zombie bees: A parasitic fly known as Apocephalus borealis can inject its eggs into a honeybee's abdomen, where the fly larvae mature. The parasitized bees abandon their hives and walk in circles ? but eventually they fall over. "It really painted a picture of something like a zombie," says San Francisco State University's Andrew Core. About seven days after infection, the mature larvae burst out from the dead bees' bodies, renewing the gruesome circle of life. It gets worse: The zombie bees are spreading.

Zombie birds: Great tits look so cute when they're perched on a branch. You'd never know that they have a taste for bat brains. In Hungary, the birds listen for the calls sent out by the cave-dwelling pipistrelle bats when they rouse themselves from hibernation. Then they track down the groggy bats, crack their skulls open and eat their brains. Researchers found that the trick is passed down from one generation of great tits to the next, providing an example of cultural transmission in avian species. The great tits helped inspire the title of Becky Crew's book about bizarre biology, "Zombie Birds, Astronaut Fish and Other Weird Animals." ??

Zombie caterpillars: You don't want to be around when a zombified caterpillar turns to goo. There's a species of baculovirus that infects gypsy moth caterpillars and sends them up into the treetops to die. When the caterpillar's body liquefies, the ooze drips down onto other caterpillars?? creating more zombies. Scientists say a single gene in the virus interferes with the caterpillar's hormones, apparently triggering the uncharacteristic urge to climb during the day.?

Zombie crabs: A tiny barnacle called Sacculina?can latch onto male crabs?and blast them with so much estrogen that they dig empty nests, made to order?for the barnacle to lay its eggs inside. If the crab host happens to be a female, no problem: The barnacle merely wipes out the host's reproductive system, and then sets her digging.

A zombie cricket jumps into a pool and dies, which gives the mind-controlling parasitic worm inside the cricket its opportunity to swim away.

Zombie crickets: Parasitic hairworms have been known to invade crickets, take over their nervous system and then force their?buggy hosts?to drown themselves?so that the grown worm can swim out and look for a mate. Scientists aren't exactly sure how crickets pick up the parasite,?but it may involve ingesting water or bugs that contain hairworm larvae.

Zombie fish: What could be ickier than having a zombie crustacean eat out your tongue?? and then take its place in your mouth?That's what the beastie known as Cymothoa exigua does to spotted rose snappers. C. exigua latches onto the fish's tongue and sucks the blood out of it until it falls off. Then it attaches itself to the stub that's left behind, and changes its diet from blood to fish mucus. The fish and the parasite carry on that way for the rest of their lives. If you're freaked out by the "Alien" movies, do not look at this picture.

Zombie ladybugs:?Dinocampus coccinellae, a species of parasitic wasp, lays a single egg inside the abdomen of a ladybug. The wasp larva eats its way through the ladybug's insides, then pops out and spins a cocoon. End of story for the ladybug, right? Not necessarily. The ladybug often lives on as one of the undead, partially paralyzed on top of the cocoon. There's evidence that the wasp larva provides resources to keep the ladybug alive, while the ladybug provides an extra layer of protection from bugs that might otherwise eat the larva.?

Zombie spiders: Another kind of zombifying wasp targets the orb spider known as Plesiometa argyra. The wasp temporarily paralyzes the spider, lays an egg on the tip of its abdomen, and leaves it to mature. The orb spider goes about its business, weaving its usual circular webs ? until, one night, the wasp larva sends a chemical signal to the spider's brain. The spider spins a weird-looking web, seemingly designed to provide shelter from rain, wind and predators. The next day, the larva kills the spider ??and moves into the home it programmed the spider to build. ??

Zombie rats ... and humans??The most insidious zombie of the animal world may well be the tiny parasite called Toxoplasma gondii, or Toxo for short. This parasite can reproduce sexually only in cat intestines, which poses a challenge when the little critters wind up in cat poop. Here's how Toxo gets back inside the cat: When mice or rats nibble on the poop, they also gobble up some of the Toxo parasites. The parasites migrate to the brain, where they release chemicals that make the rodents lower their guard when they're around cats. Scientists think that Toxo-infected mice start to regard the smell of cat pee as something sexy rather than a cause for alarm. The cats eat the smitten rats, and the Toxo life cycle begins again.

The scary part is that Toxo can find its way into the human nervous system as well. About 30 percent of the world's population is thought to be infected. Pregnant women should be careful about avoiding infection, because the parasite can pose a risk to the unborn baby. There's also some evidence of a connection between Toxo and changes in mood or personality, and perhaps even conditions such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The linkage isn't rock-solid, and most of those who are infected suffer no apparent effects. But if you need a plot device for your next zombie-movie script, Toxo is a good place to start.

More science of zombies:

---

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the NBC News Science Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with NBCNews.com's stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

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Davis' hit in 9th lifts Blue Jays over Orioles 7-6

TORONTO (AP) ? Add a new chapter to Munenori Kawasaki's remarkable run.

Kawasaki hit his first career home run, a game-tying shot in the seventh inning, Rajai Davis singled home the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the Toronto Blue Jays rallied for their ninth straight win, 7-6 over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.

"The legend grows, the Kawasaki legend grows, and rightfully so," Blue Jays pitcher R.A. Dickey said.

Kawasaki went 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Eight of his 17 RBIs this season have come against the Orioles: he also beat them with a two-run double in the ninth inning of a 6-5 win on May 26.

"He's been doing that all year," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He's done a tremendous job for us."

Kawasaki has been playing shortstop for Toronto in the absence of Jose Reyes, who's been out since April 13 with a sprained left ankle. Reyes is currently rehabbing with Triple-A Buffalo and could be back Monday.

But Kawasaki's continued heroics might just make him indispensable.

"Nobody has said that Kawasaki was going down," Gibbons said. "People might assume that but we don't know what's going to happen, to be honest."

Casey Janssen (2-0) worked one inning for the win while Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion both homered for the Blue Jays, who reached .500 for the first time since July 30, 2012.

"We're starting to become family and it's showing," Dickey said.

Toronto has won 13 of its past 16 and has gone 26-15 since May 2, when they were a season-worst 10-21.

"We've definitely come back to life, that's for sure," Gibbons said. "We're riding a nice high right now."

Facing Orioles reliever Brian Matusz (2-1), Maicer Izturis singled to begin the ninth and moved to second on Josh Thole's sacrifice. Pinch-hitter Mark DeRosa was intentionally walked to bring up Kawasaki. With the crowd of 35,472 chanting his name, Kawasaki moved up both runners with a grounder.

"Unbelievable," Kawasaki said of the ovation. "I was nervous."

Pedro Strop came on to face Davis, who lined a single over the head of shortstop J.J. Hardy. Davis' teammates poured out of the dugout in celebration, mobbing him and tearing off his jersey.

"We've got to give credit to Kawasaki," Davis said. "He had some big hits with men on base. My hit doesn't even happen without those big hits."

Chris Davis hit his major league leading 27th home run for the Orioles, who also got homers from Hardy and Ryan Flaherty.

Toronto took an early lead when Lind hit a two-run homer off Jason Hammel in the first, his 10th. Hammel has allowed 10 runs in the first inning of his 15 starts this season.

Hardy's hit a two-out solo shot in the second, his 15th, to cut it to 2-1, but the Blue Jays got a run in the fifth on Kawasaki's two-out RBI single.

Nate McLouth singled to open the sixth and Nick Markakis drew a one-out walk. McLouth scored on Adam Jones' base hit and Davis followed with his third homer in the past two games.

Davis had two homers and five RBIs in Wednesday's 13-3 win over Detroit.

Encarnacion answered with a leadoff drive in the bottom half, his 20th, cutting it to 5-4, but Flaherty's leadoff drive in the seventh restored Baltimore's two-run lead.

Tommy Hunter replaced Hammel to begin the seventh and gave up a leadoff single to Izturis, Two outs later, Kawasaki tied it at 6 by hitting a 1-1 pitch into the right field bullpen.

Kawasaki said he felt like he was dreaming as he circled the bases for his first homer in 247 big league at bats.

"I would say that it's no surprise but that home run was a surprise," Dickey joked.

Called out of the dugout for a curtain call, Kawasaki bowed several times before tipping his cap.

All three Baltimore homers came off Dickey, who matched a season-worst by allowing three longballs.

Dickey allowed six runs and seven hits in six-plus innings. The right-hander, who walked two and struck out five, has a 6.02 ERA in eight home starts this season.

"I had a pretty good knuckleball going into the game, threw a couple of hangers up there and they got punished in bad situations," Dickey said.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter was ejected in the second for arguing with plate umpire Angel Hernandez. He was replaced by bench coach John Russell.

Davis struck out swinging to begin the inning, but the pitch got away from catcher Thole and Hernandez ruled it a foul ball as Thole threw to first base. Gibbons came out and the umpires huddled, then called Davis out.

That brought out Showalter for an animated discussion with Hernandez. After being tossed, Showalter pointed at all four umpires, then mimicked throwing them out of the game.

"I don't know if the umpires considered the fact that two wrongs don't make a right," said Showalter, who was ejected for the first time this season.

NOTES: Baltimore 3B Manny Machado's single in the first was his ML-leading 104th hit. ... Reyes went 1-for-4 and scored the game-winning run for Buffalo in the first Triple-A game of his rehab assignment. ... Baltimore activated RHP Miguel Gonzalez off the paternity list and put OF Steve Pearce (left wrist) on the 15-day DL, retroactive to Thursday. Gonzalez will start against Toronto on Saturday. ... Baltimore 2B Brian Roberts (right hamstring) is scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/davis-hit-9th-lifts-blue-jays-over-orioles-032127002.html

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Report: U.S. charges Snowden, asks Hong Kong to detain him (CNN)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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Tibco Ties Social Networking to Web Conferencing Services

Part of the problem with social networking in the enterprise is that experience is fractured. There are social networking applications for the enterprise, but most of them are not all that well integrated with the web conferencing systems that business people increasingly rely on to communicate within the company and with the outside world.

Tibco recently moved to address that specific challenge with the launch of tibbr Meetings, which integrates the company?s social networking service for the enterprise with a variety of web conferencing and online meeting applications, including Cisco WebEx, Skype and Google Hangouts.

Tibco Social Computing president Ram Menon says that for social networking in the enterprise to succeed, it needs to be slipstreamed into the workflow patterns and communications services that business people already rely on.

In general, social networking in the enterprise is finding an acceptance challenge because it?s usually not associated with solving a specific business problem; for the most part, it creates another silo of communication that people have to manage. Menon says that tibbr is specifically designed to extend the social aspects of a business process, rather than merely be deployed as an alternative to email.

Like any communications framework, it?s hard to measure the specific value of an investment in enterprise social networking. For that reason, IT organizations need to make sure social networking in the enterprise is associated with improvement of specific sets of business processes. Otherwise, all the IT organization is really doing is setting up another orthogonal communications channel that over time many of the end users it was meant to serve will come to resent.

Source: http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/it-unmasked/tibco-ties-social-networking-to-web-conferencing-services.html

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Massive protests hit Brazil's cities

Protesters gesture to riot police as they stand in front of a burning barricade during an anti-government protest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, June 20, 2013. More than half a million ... more?Protesters gesture to riot police as they stand in front of a burning barricade during an anti-government protest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, June 20, 2013. More than half a million Brazilians poured into the streets of at least 80 Brazilian cities Thursday in demonstrations that saw violent clashes and renewed calls for an end to government corruption and demands for better public services. Riot police battled protesters in at least five cities, with some of the most intense clashes happening in Rio de Janeiro, where an estimated 300,000 demonstrators swarmed into the seaside city's central area. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano) less?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/massive-protests-hit-brazil-s-cities-slideshow/

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Samsung intros ATIV Book 9 Plus flagship Ultrabook, ATIV Book 9 Lite

We haven't heard much about Samsung's Series 9 Ultrabooks for a while, barring a resolution bump late last year. Today, though, the company announced the follow-on to that product. Two follow-on products, actually. The company just introduced the ATIV Book 9 Plus, a 13-inch flagship laptop that appears to be the direct replacement to the old Series 9. In addition, the company announced the ATIV Book 9 Lite, another 13-inch ultraportable that doesn't quite rise to the level of flagship status.

Starting with the Plus, it steps up to Haswell processors (Core i5 and i7), as well as a 3,200 x 1,800 touchscreen. Sammy also made improvements to the old Series 9's backlit keyboard and trackpad. (Think: the sort of excellent touchpad found on the recent ATIV Book 7). The new display, meanwhile, is coated in Gorilla Glass and has a 72 percent color gamut. The Plus offers two hinge positions -- one at about 105 degrees and another all the way down to 180 degrees. Additionally, the company's opted for OCR bonding this time around, which should offer an improved touch experience, say company reps. With the touchscreen, the weight is up to 1.39kg (3.06 pounds) -- definitely not the lightest 13-inch touchscreen Ultrabook we've seen, but still plenty portable. As for battery life, you're looking at 12 hours, according to Samsung. And given the performance of some other Haswell machines we've already had a chance to test, we're inclined to believe it.

Meanwhile, the ATIV Book 9 Lite has up to 256GB of solid-state storage and an unnamed quad-core processor clocked at 1.4GHz (it's an AMD chip, we hear). As a slightly lower-end device, it has a 1,366 x 768 display, and also comes in a more playful gamut of colors, including white, red and the usual black. Battery life is rated at 8.5 hours, compared with 12 for the Plus. Likewise, you get 4GB of RAM, versus eight gigs on the flagship model. Also, it will be available in both touch and non-touch versions, with the non-touch model weighing in at 1.44kg (3.17 pounds) and the touch one tipping the scales at 1.58kg (3.48 pounds). The Book 9 Plus and Lite will launch globally in Q3, but in the meantime we've got a hands-on post on ready for your perusal.

Gallery: Samsung Premiere 2013

Mat Smith contributed to this report.

Filed under: Laptops, Samsung

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/20/samsung-ativ-book-9-plus-announced/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Stocks extend slide as China adds to worries

NEW YORK (AP) ? There was no let-up in the flight from stocks and bonds Thursday, and the Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 300 points.

A day after the Federal Reserve roiled U.S financial markets when it said it could step back from its aggressive economic stimulus program later this year, financial markets continued to slide. A slowdown in Chinese manufacturing added to Wall Street's worries.

The breadth of the sell-off was seen across global financial markets, from sharply lower stock markets in Asia to falling government bond prices in Europe and the U.S.

The Dow fell as much as 362 points in the afternoon, its biggest drop in more than seven months. The Standard & Poor's 500 was on track for its worst performance in more than two months. Small-company stocks fell even more than the rest of the market, a sign that investors are aggressively reducing risk.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year note rose to its highest level since August 2011.

A Fed policy statement and comments from Chairman Ben Bernanke started the selling in stocks and bonds Wednesday.

Bernanke said the Fed expects to scale back its massive bond-buying program later this year and end it entirely by mid-2014 if the economy continues to improve.

The bank has been buying $85 billion a month in Treasury and mortgage bonds, a program that has kept borrowing costs near historic lows for consumers and business. It has also helped boost the stock market.

Alec Young, a global equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ, said investors weren't expecting Bernanke to say the program could end so quickly, and are adjusting their portfolios in anticipation of higher U.S. interest rates.

"What we're seeing is a pretty significant sea-change in investor strategy," Young said.

As financial markets dropped, investors likely put the proceeds of their sales in cash as they waited for the dust to settle, said Quincy Krosby, a market strategist at Prudential Financial.

Investors "are raising cash right now, for fear the deterioration will continue," said Krosby.

The S&P 500 extended Wednesday's slide, losing 34 points, or 2.1 percent, to 1,595 at 2:47 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

The Dow was down 338 points, or 1.9 percent, to 14,875. The Nasdaq composite fell 72 points, or 2.1 percent, to 3,369.

The Russell 2000 index, which contains small-company stocks, slumped 21 points, or 2.1 percent, to 965. The index closed at a record high of 999.99 points Tuesday.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.43 percent, from 2.35 percent Wednesday.

The yield, which rises as the price of the note falls, surged 0.25 percentage point Wednesday after the Fed's comments. It's up sharply since May 3, when it hit a year low of 1.63 percent.

Government bonds are used as benchmarks for mortgage rates. The sharp increase in yields prompted investors to sell the stocks of homebuilders, whose business could be hurt if the pace of home buying slows down. Even an encouraging report on home sales Thursday failed to arrest the slide.

PulteGroup plunged $2.34, or 11 percent, to $18.43. D.R. Horton fell $2.23, or 9.6 percent, to $21.20.

Markets were also unnerved after manufacturing in China slowed at a faster pace this month as demand weakened. That added to concerns about growth in the world's second-largest economy. A monthly purchasing managers index from HSBC fell to a nine-month low of 48.3 in June. Numbers below 50 indicate a contraction.

Japan's Nikkei index lost 1.7 percent. In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares fell 3 percent while Germany's DAX dropped 3.3 percent.

In currency trading, the dollar rose against the euro and the Japanese yen.

In commodities trading, Gold plunged $91.70, or 6.6 percent, to $1,281 an ounce. The precious metal is down 24 percent this year.

Gold's attraction as an alternative investment has faded as the dollar and bond yields have risen. Higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding the metal which has no return. Investors also bought gold as an insurance against inflation as the Fed pumped money into the economy. Inflation has remained tame and the central bank now appears to be nearing the end of its stimulus program.

The rising dollar pushed oil prices lower. A stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for holders of other currencies. The price of crude oil fell $3.12, or 3.1 percent, to $95.35 a barrel in New York.

Some investors said the sell-off in stocks may be overdone. The Fed is considering easing back on its stimulus because the economy is improving. The central bank Wednesday upgraded its outlook for unemployment and economic growth.

"People are overreacting a little bit," said Gene Goldman, head of research at Cetera Financial Group. "It goes back to the fundamentals, the economy is improving."

The central bank's assessment of the economy was backed by a survey Thursday that showed manufacturing in the Philadelphia region expanded at the fastest pace in two years. The Philadelphia Fed's monthly index of manufacturing conditions rose to 12.5 in May, the highest reading since April 2011.

Among other stocks making big moves:

? GameStop, a video game store chain that sells new and used games, rose $2.59, or 6.7 percent, to $41.12 after Microsoft backpedaled and said that there will be no limitations on sharing games on its upcoming Xbox One gaming console.

? Rite Aid fell 21 cents, or 7.1 percent, to $2.90 after the nation's third-largest drugstore chain lowered its forecast for 2014 earnings.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-extend-slide-china-adds-worries-171626899.html

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